Gundam SEED R
by Navek
Summary: A crossover fic of Solid Shark's Birds of a Feather, ZAFT Prime's Gundam SEED Divisions and Patriot-112's Nation of the Ice. used with their permission. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

_Battle of Endymion Crater..._****

_A CGUE around blasted a Moebius out of existence with his machine gun._****

"_We're winning." The pilot thought bitterly. "But we're paying a major butcher's bill for it."_****

_He cursed, seeing one of his men go down. "Watch it!" he shouted. "We may have the upper hand, but if you let your guard down you'll end up dead."_****

_"Under-"_****

_The voice cut off, and the pilot glanced at his displays. "Russo! Blast it, Sparky, what happened to Russo?"_****

_The voice on the radio sighed. "One of the Zeros got him, Boss. I don't think he got out."_****

"_Blast! This is not going well." He thought. "That's two men down already."_****

_Drawing his CGUE's massive sword, he lopped a Moebius in half while simultaneously shredding a Zero with his left arm-mounted Gatling gun. Then he opened his mouth, and uttered an inhuman, ascending wail over the radio._****

_The hunting call of a peregrine falcon was not something normally heard on a battlefield, particularly in space. But some would recognize it for what it was, and the voice of one of them came over the Falcon's speaker. "Grimaldi Falcon, eh? It's time we finished this."_****

_Falcon's eyes narrowed; he knew that voice. "Indeed, Mu La Flaga. I'm getting tired of your interference." He switched frequencies for a moment. "Sparky, you're in charge; I've got to swat a bothersome fly."_****

_The only reply was a pair of clicking sounds; the pilots' universal acknowledgment._****

_Mu La Flaga's Moebius Zero angled in on the slate-gray CGUE; as it did so, the pilot deployed his wired gunbarrels, attempting to encircle his adversary._****

_"I don't think so," Falcon whispered. His own powers of spatial awareness were very good, maybe even as good as Mu's. He kept track of the incoming weapons with relative ease, and managed to perforate one with his machine gun; his sword was, of course, useless now._****

_He had to juke left to dodge a shot from the Zero's linear cannon, then perform a complicated spin to avoid another wired gunbarrel. Falcon had the advantage of being a Coordinator and flying a mobile suit, but Mu's skills were among the best of any Natural, and he was one of the few who could use a Moebius Zero to its fullest potential._****

_Mu used those advantages ruthlessly now, keeping the Falcon on his toes. It wasn't the first time they'd clashed, on the Grimaldi Front; both were determined that it be the last._****

_They got their wish._****

_"Commander!" Sparky called. "Radiation levels are going up like a rocket! Something's not right here, Boss!"_****

_Falcon spared a moment's attention for his displays, and his face paled. He was picking up extremely high levels of microwave radiation, something not usually associated with a battlefield. "Unless... Oh, they couldn't! Not with their own people here!" Falcon keyed his radio. "Gray Demons, fall back, fall back! This place is gonna be a blast furnace in under three minutes! Everyone out, now!" He switched channels. "La Flaga, we'll have to finish this another time; I suggest you get yourself out of here before you get fried."_****

_Without waiting to see if the Zero broke off its attack, Falcon spun around and applied all power to thrusters. He knew his decision to warn an enemy of his own imminent demise would be criticized, but there was an honor among pilots that went back centuries; he would not break it now._****

_Now he needed only to get out alive himself._****

_Radiation levels continued to rise, and the Earth Forces resource base beneath Endymion Crater began to explode. The blastfront moved steadily across the crater, engulfing everything in its path; GINNs, CGUEs, Moebiuses and Zeros alike vanished in flames. Falcon cursed as another of his people -Alicia Sharpe, this time- exploded without time to scream._****

_Then the vast wall of heat reached his own machine, and things started to detonate. Falcon felt a searing pain in his heart, and he just had to time realize it was physical pain, not anguish, before everything went black, and he knew no more._****

_Year 70 of the Cosmic Era. _****

_Tensions were mounting between Earth and the ZAFT Organization. Due to the Bloody Valentine Tragedy, these tensions suddenly escalated into a full scale war. _****

_It seemed a foregone conclusion that the Earth Forces, with its superior numbers, would be victorious. But these initial assessments proved to be false. _****

_Almost 11 months have passed since the conflict began with no end in sight._****

_But, despite the Earth Alliance's call for all nations to join their racial cause, two small but powerful factions arose stand against them._****

_One has existed since the very beginning of the Cosmic Era. Both the Earth Forces and ZAFT fear going to war with them because of its amazing militray might._****

_Its leader nation is a mighty country that has proven its might during the Anno Domini era and is the leader in equal human rights._****

_The second consists of four nations who wish to stay neutral, and will fight to the death, to maintain that neutrality. _****

_Led by the Nation of the Ice, these four nations form the Independent State Allied Force, or more commonly known as.._

_"_**_ISAF_**_"_

****_Phase 1: False Peace_****

_**January 25th, C.E. 71**_**  
**_**Heliopolis...**_****

Kira Yamato, a 15 year First Generation Coordinator, was working on his assignment given to him by his teacher Professor Kato. In another window on his computer was the latest news on the war, more specifically the Kaoshiung Spaceport and it's Mass Driver. The footage was a week old and the Spaceport, and probably the whole of Taiwan, have fallen to the ZAFT Forces. The reporter in the foreground had a grim look on his face as he reported the battle, wearing his flak vest and Kevlar helmet. In the background were two GINNs as they decimated the Earth Forces positions around the Spaceport.****

"It sounds like the Earth Forces have lost their first Mass Driver," said Kyle Matsutani, an old friend of his from Copernicus before they evacuated back to their respsective nations before the war. He and two others, Athrun Zala and Arleen Bettany, have been friends with Kira since C.E. 61. They had to split up because of the tensions between Earth and the PLANTs. Athrun went back to Aprilius City, Kyle and Arleen's families left for the Antarctic L2 Colony Cluster, while he and his family left for Heliopolis, it was then he got the suprise of his life, when on September 20th of last year, Arleen and Kyle came to Helipolis, and were attending the same class as him. Back to Kyle, he was the same height as him, had black shoulder length hair in a wolf-tail, had light green eyes and always a good friend to have around, when you get stalked by bullies constantly. He was wearing a black leather jacket, tan shirt, and green cargo pants, and what looked like the civilian version of ZAFT Forces boots, as he looked at Kira's computer screen.****

"Yeah, Taiwan apparently..." he said as he looked at the destroyed city around the reporter. He could'nt believe why people are so stupid sometimes, whether they be Natural or Coordinator. ****

The young Coordinator was so engrossed in his work from the professor though, that he did not hear another person creep up from behind him. When the hand laid itself on his shoulder, Kira jumped at the touch. He let out a yelp as his computer fell to the ground with a _CRASH._****

"Akira! Don't do that!" Kira rasped as he struggled to get some air into his lungs. Sixteen year old Akira Nishikama just laughed at the sight. "You are too easy to scare, Kira. Lighten up!" the other boy giggled.****

Akira, like Kira, was a Coordinator, but second-generation. He wore his black hair pulled back at the bottom, flowing down to his middle back. The boy also had golden eyes and was very muscular but not too much, due to his black belt training in martial arts. Akira was also very skilled at mechanics. He wore a white jacket with a black line on the arms on the outside while a red t-shirt was underneath. Blue jeans and white tennis shoes completed his outfit.****

Kira just sighed before he saw his computer on the ground. "Aw shit!" he cursed as he ran over to it and inspected the laptop for any damage. "There better not be any damage…" the brown-haired boy muttered as he looked it over.****

The black-haired boy just let out a sigh as Kira stood up, satisfied that there was not damage to the computer. "You should not have done that! Kyle and I have work to complete!" Kira explained as he faced Akira.****

"From who?" the golden-eyed boy inquired. ****

"Professor Kato." Kira replied.****

"Hey! Kira! Aki'! Kyle!" ****

The three Coordinators turned to see Tolle, Nisha, Miriallia, and Arleen run up to them. Aki' was Akira's nickname considering how the two names sounded too similar.****

The voice belogned to Tolle Koenig, a friend of Kira's after he arrived in Helipolis, as he came over to them with his girlfriend Miriallia Haw in tow. Like Tolle, she was a recent add to his small band of friends. ****

Accompanying them was another girl, with reddish-orange hair, Cerulean blue eyes, wearing a red leather jacket, white pants, and wearing black ankle high zip-up boots. Her name was Arleen Bettany, another old friend of Kira's from their days at Copernicus. When they came unexpectedly to Heliopolis, he was happy to see them again, but then he was shocked when he found out that they are not just friends, but girlfriend and boyfriend, now! Apparently something must've happened when they went their seperate ways almost _three years _ago. He shook his head of the thought.****

Nisha Itsuno was Akira's cousin, who was a Coordinator just like him, but First-Generation. His father was Akira's uncle, and a Natural to boot. He wore a t-shirt with 2 green lines running down the front of it, and blue jeans that had a hole below the right knee. He wore white sneakers to complete his outfit. His hair was light blue, and his eyes were a brown color.****

"Hey Tolle, what's up?" Kira asked him.****

Tolle then decided to give him the bad news. "So this is where you were at. Professor Kato's been trying to get a hold of you two." He pointed to Kira and Kyle.****

Kyle just face-palmed as he knew what Prof. Kato wants. Sure being a student in college was fun and all, but at the same time it can be annoying. Kira knew as well, but he asked the obvious question anyway.****

"We haven't even gotten done with what he dumped on us yesterday!" Kira whined. Aki' just smacked his head in annoyance. Who knew that Kira was such a crybaby?****

It was then Arleen answered his question, in that all too sweet tone of hers. "Yes, he didn't say why, just told us to bring you two to him right away."****

"Man, I swear! Why does'nt he do his own damn work. I mean come on! Sure we're good at what we do, but we're not _Supermen!" _Kyle whinned.****

Arleen's reponse was to bop him upside the head. "Dont be a cry baby!"****

The five other students just looked at the two, and Miriallia leaned over and asked Kira the obvious. "Are they always like that? It's hard to believe that..you know."****

"Well, after being together for so long since before they even met me, I guess it makes sense." that was the only answer he could think of and just when Miri was about to ask another question Arleen truned her head at her fellow students, and asked in a all too-sweet voice. "Hm? Did you guys say something?"****

Their reaction was to sheepishly smile and Miriallia just casually wave at her, "Uh, nothing"****

It was then the sound of the news report caught their attention and the five students looked at Kira's laptop, Tolle stating the obvious.****

"Huh, some development in the news?"****

Kyle nodded his head as he gave his answer "Yep, this news footage is a week old so ZAFT has probably taken control of Kaoshiung by now."****

Miriallia looked at the footage, a concerned look on her face. "Kaoshiung is not too far from ISAF territory. Will the homeland be alright?"****

The Orb Union was a member nation of the Independent State Allied Force or ISAF, founded a day after the Alaska Declaration, as one of four nations who signed the East Falkland Declaration, including the founding member nation, the United Republic of Antarctica, who declared independence and neutrality, All of them not wanting to take part in a racial war of genes. Tolle, ever being the smart-aleck that he was came up the obvious answer.****

"Yeah, I guess it's okay to assume that. Oh they're close by, but our nation's neutral and we're part of ISAF. And even if they did, the Human Reform League will keep the Advance European Union under control." ****

"The AEU… needs to be destroyed!" Akira snarled as he glared at Tolle. The boy gulped as Nisha stood up.****

"What is with you?" he demanded. "Ever since that day, things haven't been the same for you!"****

Aki' was silent as he looked down at the ground. "…"****

"Well?" Nisha asked. "Aren't you going to say something?"****

"It's nothing…Just leave me alone…" Akira murmured before walking off.****

"That was weird." Mir said.****

"Still, I have to say we're pretty safe." Tolle said as he returned to the topic at hand. "Especially here in Heliopolis. After all, why would anyone want to attack Heliopolis? We're neutral, and there's absolutely nothing here."****

Kyle and Arleen shuddered at what Tolle said. They have'nt told Kira about why they were really in Heliopolis, and that they have joined the ISAF Armed Forces. Kyle just had one thought to Tolle's question. **"**_Tolle, you have no idea what the Earth Forces, not to mention 'we' are building here."_****

_Elsewhere…_****

Akira rammed his fist into the side of a wall, making a low _THUNP!_How could they know of the anger that he felt right now? Ever since that day…****

"GGRRAAAHHH!" the boy snarled as he whirled around and walked towards the gazebo again. Then he stopped. Getting into a martial arts stance, Akira let out his anger through the moves of his body. It was his way of calming down after someone mentioned the AEU…****

While Akira did hate the ones who had been responsible, he did not hate all Naturals, considering how he was friends with some of them. The ones he _did_hate, however, were the leaders of the ones who killed her, Blue Cosmos.****

Meanwhile, Kenneth "Falcon" DiFalco shot bolt upright in bed, gasping, soaked in sweat.****

It had happened again. Yet another night ruined by nightmares; memories of terror and pain. "Get _over_it, Falcon," he told himself, getting out of bed. "Endymion was seven months and twenty-three days ago. Your war is over, soldier."****

Falcon was seventeen, 176 centimeters tall, with medium brown hair and Prussian blue eyes; a nasty scar ran diagonally across his left eye socket. He'd come to Heliopolis in September of the previous year, along with his parents, and enrolled in a technical college as a way of keeping busy and out of sight. He had good reason for wanting to remain somewhat... anonymous.****

Now, at 0700 hours, it was time for him to get ready for his day. "_Probably uneventful,"_he thought. "_Not that that's a bad thing, all considering; now I understand how Sophia feels."_Not that Falcon had seen his sister recently. He still got the occasional message, but Sophia DiFalco, nine years his senior, had effectively vanished from his life eight years earlier, when she entered a science academy. Even after graduating, Sophia had mostly stayed away, living on her own who-knew-where, doing who-knew-what.**  
****  
**Falcon wasn't particularly concerned. They'd never been _that_close, and he had his own problems. The scar on his face was the least of them.****

**"**_But for right now, I'd better get ready or the Prof will have my head."_****

After taking care of a few necessities, Falcon pulled on his usual slate-gray trousers, t-shirt, and boots, before going over to his desk and examining a few other items... like the Order of the Nebula that sat in a prominent place. He took it from its case, hung it around his neck, and slipped the golden medal itself into his shirt, where it wouldn't be noticed.****

That done, he slipped the black polymer eyepatch over his left eye socket, and reached for the short sword that also rested on the desktop. It was slightly curved, with a red-twined handle over pale ray skin, and a matching red scabbard; anyone familiar with ZAFT top-gun uniforms would have noted the Japanese wakizashi matched the color of said uniforms. He also possessed the longer blade, the katana, but it was presently far, far away.****

Falcon stuck the weapon in his belt, edge-up. That left one more small item, and he looked at the shoulder-holstered machine pistol with a measure of distaste. "Man, I hate these things." Not that he subscribed to the idea that guns killed people, of course; he simply had a few bad memories about them.****

Nonetheless, he strapped on the shoulder holster and the grabbed his backpack. Only part of it was used for his college assignments; it was mostly filled with certain items he didn't want left behind in an emergency.****

Finally, he pulled on a slate-gray trench coat and matching gloves, completing the ensemble. He was as ready for his day as he could be.****

**"**_Except for one thing,"_Falcon thought, remembering. Before leaving the room, he picked up a small, handheld computer. Something of an accomplished hacker, he had a specific task in mind this day. An old acquaintance of his, someone he'd met over the global networks before the N-jammers made them inaccessible, had asked him for help obtaining some data; they were to meet at the college.****

**"**_Well, then; time to go."_****

Without a backward glance, he swept out of the room and the house; his parents would already be at work, so there was no need to say goodbye.****

Falcon had no idea he would never see them again.****

_**Heliopolis Harbor**_**  
**_**Marseilles-III Class Transport**_****

The Earth Forces vessel steadily moved into the harbor of the resource satellite, guided in by the Heliopolis Traffic Control Room staff. The staff we're on edge as this is the last day the Earth Forces will be staying here, and the sooner they're gone the better. As the docking procedures were complete, the captain of the old transport heaved a sigh of relief as he turned to the two Earth Forces officers who helped him get here on time.****

"And there you have it. This old ship has completed her final mission," he said as he let his officers visor cap float in the zero-g. "You both did an excellent job of getting us here, Lt. La Flaga and Lt. Friedrich. I am in your debt." he thanked as the two individuals turned. One Mu La Flaga, a blonde haired, blue eyed man at the age of 28, and his companion, Cornelia Friedrich, with shoulder length black hair tied in a low pony-tail, brown eyes, and at the right age of 25.****

"Sir, I'm just glad we made it without incident," Mu said and then Cornelia asked his next question.****

"Any ZAFT vessels in the vincinity? You know, just to be safe?" she asked a little concerned.****

The Captain answered them in the affirmative. "We spotted two, but it's no cause for alarm. They know they can't attack us now we're docked."****

Mu just smirked and Cornelia just shook her head at the irony of it all. Mu then ask the question she knew he say "Because it's Neutral Territory? What a joke that is."****

The Captain laughed a bit, "Well it's thanks to Morgenroete we progressed this far. We should be thankful at least that Earth has recognized ISAF."****

"Excuse us sir?" one of the pilots that Mu and Cornelia were assigned to protect requested as he and his comrades saluted the captain and he returned the gesture, and then they were off. Cornelia and Mu were having second thoughts about all this.****

"Think they can handle themselves, alone on the ground?" Mu asked with concern. The Captain reassured him.****

"I know they're young, but they are all top guns picked to pilot the G-weapons." Cornelia wasn't convinced****

"Even still, I dont think they're ready, sure it _was _Rena that trained them, but, I dont know," the Captain could tell what she was thinking.****

"Well if you two were assigned to the project, you'd stick out like a sore thumb. No offense," Mu smirked sheepishly, while Cornelia just looked out the bridge window. One of her friends Murrue Ramius was one of the people assigned to the project. She lost one friend when she disappeared all of a sudden, and she did'nt want to lose another.****

"That's true," the man known as the Hawk of Endymion admitted. "But there's still something..."****

The Captain looked at him sidelong. "You're still worried about _him_, aren't you? The pilot who nearly killed you, at Endymion?"****

"It wasn't just Endymion; we tangled a few times before that. But yeah. Him."****

"You're worrying over nothing, Lieutenant. The Grimaldi Falcon hasn't been seen since the fighting at Nova, last July. Come on, man, if he was still alive we'd know it."****

"I suppose so..."****

Still, Mu couldn't help but be nervous. The last time the Earth Forces had assumed the Grimaldi Falcon dead, after rumors of his severe injuries at Endymion, he'd made them pay for the assumption, at the resource satellite Nova; originally owned by the Republic of East Asia, it was now the space fortress Boaz, guarding the PLANT homeland, and the Grimaldi Falcon had played a not inconsiderable role in bringing about that particular ZAFT victory.****

**"**_Never pays to underestimate the grayest of all the Gray Demons,"_he thought.** "**_No _way_is he dead."_****

_**ZAFT Forces Ship-Vesalius**_****

Captain Ades of the Nazca-Class Vesalius was on edge, he knew this is a bad idea as the small ships carrying the commando team headed toward Heliopolis. If ISAF ever found out about this there will be hell to pay. Despite his advice to wait for a reply from the Supreme Council on what to do, his commanding officer though was not one to be called patient.****

"Try not to look so frustrated Ades" said Rau Le Creuset, as he floated by him****

"Well I dont see any harm on waiting for an reply from the council.." before he can finish, Rau cut him off.****

"It will be far too late. I have a sixth sense of these sort of things," the masked commander replied as he gently tossed a photograph of a strange mobile suit toward him. When ever Ades had a discussion with, he always felt a chill go up his spine as the masked man continued, "Should we fail to act now, later we will pay with our lives for our reluctance." he said as he took his seat next to Ades. "The Earth Forces' new Mobile Weapons. We must secure before they can move them"****

_**Heliopolis-Mass Transit Station**_****

The group of friends were nearing a mass transit station when Falcon ran into them. "Hey, Falcon," Tolle greeted him. The relative newcomer to Heliopolis wasn't exactly a friend of theirs; in fact, he hardly said a word, and what he did say tended to be delivered quite emotionlessly. But he seemed to be a nice enough guy, if you got past the icy exterior.****

"Hey guys," Falcon replied with a nod. His one-eyed gaze and toneless voice were forbidding, especially coming from someone so young, but after fours months they were used to it. "Going my way?"****

"Yeah," Mir answered. "Care to join us?" She, for one, was somewhat intrigued by how the youth spoke so coolly, yet used casual syntax and grammar; and she was determined to sometime get _some_kind of reaction out of him.****

"Sure." Falcon's good eye narrowed, seeing the trio of teenage girls standing in front of the station. "_Huh. That would be Flay Allster and clique,_he thought. _Typical gossiping behavior, I see." _After the last year or so, there was little trace of the carefree teenager left in Falcon DiFalco.****

They nattered on for a few moments, then Flay's companions turned to Mir and rather energetically asked a question; something about a letter to Flay from one Sai Argyle, another of Falcon's new classmates.****

**"**_They have no idea how sheltered they are,_he thought._They live here, in this "neutral" colony, with no understanding of just how quickly that could change... especially if ZAFT were to get hold of the information I uncovered."_****

Falcon's thoughts were interrupted by a clearing throat behind them. "Ahem... if you're just going to stand there, do you mind if _we_get through?"****

He flicked his cyclops-like gaze over the black-haired woman and her two male companions, all of whom wore sunglasses. "_Military",_Falcon thought. _No mistaking it. "They must be part of the G-weapons project."_****

Calmly, he stepped aside. "After you... Ma'am."****

The woman shot him a sharp glance before nodding and stepping past. "_Who is he, and how much can he know?"_****

Ignoring the chattering teenage girls, Natarle Badgiruel, Arnold Neumann, and Jackie Tonomura climbed into the mass transit car that waited in the street.****

"Just look around this place," Badgiruel commented as they left. "So peaceful."****

Neumann raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"****

The black-haired Earth Forces Ensign pulled off her sunglasses. "To think there are already people as young as them fighting on the frontlines." She glanced back the way they had come. "There was something strange about one of them," she added. "That kid in gray, with the eyepatch... he knows something."****

Neumann shrugged. "Why worry about it? I mean, he can't know anything about the G-weapons... can he?"****

"There _was_that hacking incident the other day," Badgiruel pointed out. "I know it doesn't look like he got anything, and we managed to isolate the data on the sixth unit before he could get that deep, but you never know... Oh, well. He probably just thought **  
**we looked military; probably nothing to worry about."****

In the coming months, she would be very glad that this young man had deduced certain things.****

_**Morgenroete College, Professor Kato's lab**_****

The door slid open as Kira and the others entered the lab. There, waiting to greet them were their friends Sai Argyle, Kuzzey Buskirk, and one other they did'nt recognize. The person was wearing a brown coat, a grey cap, hazel eyes and had blonde hair as she looked away from the group. Kyle and Arleen, being in the ISAF Armed Forces, recognized her right off the bat that it is Cagalli Yula Attha, the daughter of the Chief Represenative of the Orb Union, Uzumi Nara Attha. They concluded that she came here to invetsigate the G-weapon project that the Earth Alliance and Morgenroete were building, and if their hunch was correct, the G-weapons Liberty Electronics and Morgenroete have built in secret without the Earth Forces' knowing.****

Deciding it will be best to get her alone when no one was alone, the two went about their buisness and listened to Tolle's teasing of Kira's little crush on Flay Allster. Arleen scoffed at that, she knew about the Allsters thanks to reading about them in magazines, watching News Bulletins, and from her father, Joseph Bettany, a member in the Antarctic Government Council. And to her, she hated George Allster with a passion, just because he hated Coordinators. She decided to make it her 'personal' mission, to see that Kira find someone better than Flay Allster. But, even though she hated her father, Flay to her was just a misguided soul, who needs to be reformed.****

Falcon walked up to Cagalli. "You're Falcon?" she asked quietly.****

He nodded. "And you'd be Cagalli Yula." It wasn't a question.****

Identities established -neither realized the other was operating under a false one- Cagalli looked about to make sure no one was listening. "You have the data?"****

Falcon nodded, and drew the small computer from a coat pocket. "You were right," he said in a low tone. "Morgenroete is constructing five prototype mobile suits for the Earth Alliance, and a new class of mobile assault ship to carry them." He tapped the screen, holding it where she could see. ****

Cagalli studied the data carefully, trying to keep her face composed. "_Father, how _could_you? "We're supposed to be _neutral_, and yet you're-"_****

"Relax," Falcon said softly. He didn't know what was bothering her, but he didn't really need to. "I don't think this will drag Orb into the war, if that is what you're worried about. From what I know of Chief Representative Athha, he'd find it simple enough to disavow any knowledge of Morgenroete's actions... and the PLANTs would buy it, too."****

"How would _you_know?" she demanded.****

He shrugged enigmatically. "It is my business to know that." Falcon jerked his head at the door to the facility's hallways. "If you want to see it with your own eyes, I have the access codes to get into the hanger. It might even be a good idea; my data is incomplete."****

Cagalli tilted her head. "What do you mean?"****

"There were a few files I was unable to access," he explained. "When I tried, the computer physically isolated itself from the rest of the network; which makes me wonder if there's something else in there." "_It would be just like those treacherous bastards in the Earth Forces",_he didn't add.****

But, unknown to any of them, ZAFT commandos have placed explosive charges in areas around the Earth Forces' new warship, Archangel, and around the observation booth, in order to get the officers in the process.****

_**ZFS-Vesalius**_****

"It's time" said Le Creuset as he gave the order to move out of their hiding spot.****

"Weigh anchor! Vesalius Launch!" shouted Ades as the warships engines roared to life and they were off, with Heliopolis in their sights, and the prize that awaited. As the colony readied its defenses, the _Archangel_prepared to take off if needed. Then, the explosives went off, tearing into the hanger and killing the pilots, entire crew and crew members in the hanger.****

Nearby, another ship, undetected by the ZAFT Forces or the Heliopolis Traffic Control Room, watches. They could intervene, but only the mobile suits were to do the fighting, while the ship stayed behind to monitor the area. That didn't sit too well with the Captain at all.****

"Ahh! Damn it! We're allowed to launch our mobile suits, but the Morningstar is ordered to stay back!? Ughh!" The Captain, one Trisha Hohenheim, a former officer of the Atlantic Federation, before she was forced to leave, due to finding out something she shouldn't have, couldn't believe that command was ordering her to stay back and watch, while ZAFT was about to attack a Neutral Colony with two of her people on it! It was then another voice got her attention.****

"Try to calm down Captain. A good ship captain never loses her cool." the voice belonged to the Commanding officer of the ISS-Morningstar's Mobile Suit team, Canard Pars-Harkin, son of one of ISAF's best Admirals, and the leader of their nation of Antarctica.****

"I know, but out of all the Mobile Suits we have, three of them don't have pilots! And the pilots we chose for the 2 G-weapons are on Heliopolis! Which is about to be attacked, and we cant do anything about it." She said. Canard nodded his head and then decided he better do something. Heliopolis does have it's own militia and is equipped with mobile suits and a good amount of TSF-6 Vertigo fighters, but the pilots of the Vertigos are green and there are only 4 Patriots to protect the colony, and ZAFT's mobile suits outnumbered them 3 to 1.****

"I'll get my team ready. If the situation gets dicey, give us the word, and we'll launch," Canard told her and that made her relax a bit. "All right Commander, but hurry, I bet the Heliopolis militia can't last long without our help." she informed, which she nodded and he left the bridge, hoping he wasn't too late.****

_**Undisclosed location…**_**  
****  
**Three forms sat around the table, one female and two male. The female looking form turned to address the two males.****

"Now, as you know, the war has been going on for one year as of today. That day, the attack on Junius Seven, is now known as the Bloody Valentine tragedy. We have pledged our support to ZAFT and the PLANTs, but we are not going to try and kill the Coordinators. Those are not the orders we have given our troops." The female began.****

The first male form then spoke up in a Spanish accented voice. "Do not take this the wrong way, but what is our reason for fighting the Earth Alliance?" he asked.****

She looked at the first male form. "The Earth Alliance is not controlled by a group known as Blue Cosmos. They are a separate group. They believe that the Coordinators are destined to wipe out all Naturals from existence. That is not true. In fact, most Coordinators could care less about wiping out all Naturals." she explained.****

The second male form looked musing for a minute before he spoke up next. "What do we know about Blue Cosmos? I mean, their thinking is along the lines of…_them_**…**" he said.****

At the mere mention of the word, chills ran down the spines of the other two forms. The female form then looked at the second male form.****

"You are correct about that… You see, we believe that the origins of Blue Cosmos stem from the A.D. era, which included two nasty world wars, the second one involving the origins of the group we are fighting today. During the Second World War, there was a group called the Nazis, which wanted a genetically pure world. Everyone was to have blue eyes and blonde hair, and everyone else was declared inferior. The Nazis tried to genetically modify humans, which led to the fear of genetically engineered humans. Now, I can understand where they are coming from, as all of us here are afraid of that as well. Yet, that does not mean that Coordinators are inhuman. They have the same base DNA as the rest of us. That is what allows us to see them as human." The female form said, but there was still more she had to say.****

"Many of us fear the day when we can modify personalities, which is why we have laws that prevent that. But still, there is recent intelligence that suggests that the terrorist group has such technology. However, we cannot tell if that is true or not at this present time. Still, if this technology ever fell into the hands of someone who wanted to create the race of superhumans that everyone fears deep down, then the world of the Nazis will have come into creation…" she trailed off, leaving the other two forms to only imagine what such a world would be like.****

The first male form then slammed his hands down on the table before them. "We have to find and destroy that technology!" he declared as he stood up.****

A wave from the female form urged him to sit down. "We cannot do what you have suggested until we have confirmed that the technology exists. The intelligence only said that it is suspected of being in existence, not if it exists or not." She reminded him.**  
**The first male form growled before sitting down. "Still, we have to ensure the peace will come back. The only reason I am not objecting to this is because we are the only ones who can ensure that ZAFT and the PLANTs exist without fear."****

A grunt from the second male form signified his turn to speak. "I agree that we are the only ones who can protect the PLANTs, but why must we be allied with both sides?" he asked.****

"We can't seem too supporting of one side." The female form replied. But, her companion had brought up a good point. "You do have a point though…We can't just ignore the possible threat of an attack from the Earth Alliance. We have to be allied with them for our survival."****

A grunt came from the first male form. "Your nation is the most powerful on Earth. Who can _you_be afraid of defeat? No nation in the Earth Alliance wants to challenge you."**  
**The female form glared at the first male form. "That may have been true before the nations of the planet began to form alliances, but now we wouldn't stand a chance. That is why we formed an alliance, to ensure that we can survive in the C.E. era." She snarled back.****

Her second male companion just leaned back in the chair and folded his arms. "We all know the reason why. There is no reason to repeat it." He said calmly.****

"We all agreed to work together to protect the PLANTs from the Earth Alliance, or more specifically, Blue Cosmos. That is all that we can do at this point. Even if there was more that we could do, it still would not make much of a difference. All we can do is uphold our pledge to the PLANTs for now. When more information becomes available, we will be able to act on our own. Until then, there is nothing more we can do…"****

_**Hidden location…**_****

The female form entered a darkened room, which was just fine with her. She closed the door, walking over to a desk which held a video of the past, a time in which many things had been decided that affected the present…****

-_Flashback Video_-****

"_We have just made the breakthrough that everyone has wanted to see happen. Today, we have just created the first generation of Coordinators, as the enhanced shall be known from this day onward." A male scientist explained as cameras flashed around him._****

"_From today onward, humans will now be able to control their genetic destiny. Parents will be able to prevent all sorts of diseases in their offspring, thus enabling them to live healthy lives. Future generations will be given what their parents were denied, a better chance at life!" the scientist continued._****

_Applause rose from the gathered crowd. Many people were eager to rush the man, but the police in front of the lab prevented such an act. Lives would be changed for the better, and no one would ever try to stop what people had desired for so long. But, many did not realize what the future held for the genetically enhanced. And it was not what they had hoped for…_****

_-Break-_****

"_Would you care to tell us how the future will embrace Coordinators? Many people are eager to hear about the possibilities." A female reporter said._****

_The man chuckled. "Well, I can assure you, we can only enhance the bodies, not the souls. That is the one thing that we cannot control. But, what I can tell you is that the creation of Coordinators will lead to a new era for all humans. No one will be suffering from diseases that we have sought to cure. Instead, they will now be immune to those diseases. Genetics has taught us that we can control what we are, and who we are. I fear, however, that there will be those who have bad illusions about Coordinators, and they will try to wipe out the Coordinators that have come into existence."_****

_A stunned look crossed the reporter's face. "What do you think that those people will do to the Coordinators?" she asked._****

"_Those people will try to claim that Coordinators are inhuman. In reality, they are human. We all have the same base DNA, and that is what makes them human just like us. But, the future is uncertain. I can only take a guess as to how those people will react to Coordinators. I can only guess…" the man sighed._****

_-Break-_****

"_The United States has just announced that an attack on a Coordinator and his family has occurred. Police are trying to find the ones responsible, but have no suspects at this time. They hope to have someone found soon." The news reporter said, a grim look on his face._**  
**"_Recent news from the hospital where the Coordinator is being treated for injuries says that he is in stable condition. Cops have reported several persons of interest, all claiming to be part of this group called Human Purity. The claims were discredited by the police investigators, who have charged the suspects with a hate crime. Their motives are unknown at this time."_****

_-Break-_****

"_The Coordinator children have begun to show their talents, and yet many are still too young to be showing their abilities. Many parents have been trying to keep the press away from their children, and with a good amount of success. But the press still persists, causing several cases to go to the Supreme Court for violation of the right to privacy. We can expect to hear the Court's final ruling within the next few hours. Three years into the legal battle, the highest court will decide if the press has the right to come after the Coordinator children of these families." A male reporter said, the Supreme Court building behind him._****

"_We have just heard the Supreme Court's ruling, which has gone in favor of the parents of Coordinator children. This is what the Supreme Court justices had to say."_****

"We of the Supreme Court have decided to rule in the favor of the parents of Coordinator children. The press has violated their right to privacy, and thus denied the children the right to live a modest lifestyle. In light of this ruling, we hope that the Congress will make and pass laws that will protect the right to privacy for all Coordinator children born to Natural parents."_The Chief Justice said as she looked to __face the cameras. Lights flashed before she turned and walked back into the Supreme Court building._****

"_And there you have it. The Supreme Court's ruling has made it illegal to hound the families of Coordinators. This is a huge landmark case in the legal rights of Coordinators, which will hopefully affect the future generations yet to come."_****

-_End Flashback Video_-****

The female form sighed as she shut down the video. How had it come to this, when all that was intended was the chance to better the future for humanity? The answers that she sought never came.****

_'Damn Blue Cosmos! They were the ones who started all of this!_The form thought angrily. _They had to claim that Coordinators were the creations of the Nazis. But the Coordinators were never the creations of Nazis. Blue Cosmos… They have no idea on what they are trying to do. The whole group is like the Nazis, attacking anyone who is a Coordinator. Each of the members claims that the Coordinators are impure, so they are like a modern Nazi group. Crazy…'_****

She looked out the huge windows before her. The stars were shining, visible even from the residence. A small smile crossed her lips before fading again. What was the point in attacking Coordinators, even if they were not doing anything wrong? It did not make any sense to her.****

A frown crossed her face as the form sat at the desk. What was it that Blue Cosmos was up to? No one knew, not even her armed forces. That was what bothered her to no end.****

Who was running the group that they were facing? And what was their motive for attacking the Coordinators? And how did they get the Nukes needed to blow up Junius Seven?****

More questions than answers were appearing, making things difficult in terms of understanding the war. She frowned at the thought. They needed answers if they were going to truly decide their place in the war. More questions would only hinder them anyway. It was not going to be easy, and she knew it. It would not be easy at all…****

_Heliopolis, Morgenroete Factory District…_****

Lieutenant Murrue Ramius felt the tremors of the explosions rock the colony.****

"What happened? Did ZAFT open fire on us?" Taikyu Itsuno shouted as the violent shaking subsided. He was Akira's uncle and an engineer of the factory district.****

"I'm not sure, but we have to get the G-weapons to the _Archangel_, now!" Murrue replied to the Morgenrouete crew chief.****

Transport vessel, Seventh Orbital Fleet, Heliopolis Harbor****

"ZAFT?" Mu asked. ****

The ship's Captain nodded. "Two vessels, _Nazca_and _Laurasia_-class. Confirmed deployment of mobile suits prior to jamming of communications."****

"Figures." He and Cornelia were in his flight suits now, Mu cradling his helmet with its distinctive white feather emblem under his arm. ****

"Have Luke and Gayle board their Moebius units," Cornelia instructed. "Don't deploy them yet!"****

Without waiting for a reply, the Zero pilots left the Bridge, heading for their own machine. "_This is bad." _Mu thought.** "**_Well, could be worse; looks to be the Le Creuset team, which means the Grimaldi Falcon won't be here; last I heard, he had his own team."_****

_**Professor Kato's Lab...**_****

The tremors that the crews had felt shook the lab, sending all sorts of equipment to the ground. Akira had to grab onto the edge of a lab table to steady himself. Kira and his friend Sai also did the same thing. Kyle made sure Arleen didn't get hurt by using himself as a cushion, not that Arleen would've bothered since she was a soldier like him. They looked at each other and both knew what that was. Tolle after helping Miriallia get up after he also used himself as a cushion to soften her landing asked to no one in particular.****

"What the hell was that!? A meteoroid!?"****

Kyle, not being a ISAF soldier for nothing, immediately countered. "Are you kidding me Tolle? That didn't feel one bit like a meteoroid."****

Falcon realized before anyone else in the room what was going on; his little hacking device had picked up the effects of the N-jammers.****

"ZAFT is attacking," he announced calmly. "It would be wise to evacuate this area, immediately."****

"You'll get no argument from me," Tolle concurred. "Let's go!"****

Dropping what they were doing, the students, led by Sai, headed back into the hallway, trailed by Falcon and Cagalli. They went quickly to an emergency stairwell, which was already filling up with evacuees.****

"What's going on?" Sai demanded of the first person he saw.****

"I don't know," the man replied, not missing a stride.****

"It's ZAFT," Falcon repeated. He listened for a moment. "Mobile suits have entered the colony; GINNs, from the sound of it."****

"Why would ZAFT be attacking? It's not like we have anything of value." Nisha added.****

Cagalli's eyes widened. "You're sure?" she whispered to the one-eyed teen. He silently nodded. "Then I think it's time you showed me those machines."****

Falcon nodded again, and they took off running down a side passage.****

Kira saw them go. "Hey, wait! Where are you going?" He quickly headed off after them, ignoring Tolle's protests. Arleen and Kyle did the same and went after them.****

"Wait! Guys, get back here!" Nisha yelled as he too ran off in an attempt to bring the other students back.****

"I'll go get them. You guys just reach the shelters!" Aki called back as he followed the others.****

_**Artificial Hill overlooking colony interior...**_****

Yzak Joule looked through his binoculars as he looked at the targets they were after.****

"There they are. Just like the Commander said," the Redcoat observed****

"What, that if we prod them long enough, they'll come out of their holes?" said fellow Redcoat, Dearka Elsman.****

"Yeah, after all, the Naturals are stupid and pathetic," Yzak sneered.****

"Especially ISAF? After all they did to try and stop the nukes from hitting the PLANTs?" Said Nicol Amalfi with deep respect for the ISAF Forces.****

"They're the only exception. Besides, knowing them and how sneaky they are, they probably used this as an advantage to get data to upgrade their MS Forces. That's what I like about them," Yzak praised, as this was uncommon from the normally hot-headed, stuck up, Redcoat.****

"We should hurry. Shiho, Miguel, and Olor will be here soon" said Athrun Zala as he looked at the Mobile Suits still in their cradles. He knows Kira's here and he hoped he got to a shelter in time.****

"Yeah, we would'nt want to keep Yzak's girlfreind waiting," Dearka teased and that caused a few of the commando team to snicker, and made Yzak see red, but he knew they have a job to do and did'nt want to keep Commander Le Creuset waiting.****

A moment later, three GINNs appeared over the nearby Morgenroete factory district and opened fire, destroying many of the vehicles that were escorting the mobile suits.****

They activated their jetpacks and flew over to three of the six machines, as well as a box that was sealed, while the GINNs systematically destroyed the rest of the escort vehicles. "What is that one?" Nicol asked.****

"Ignore it, as it is probably just a part that is being transported." Yzak replied as he landed beside the other pilot. "Destroy the parts we can't carry and the factories." Yzak ordered over the com. "According to intel, there should be six machines."****

"Rusty, Tao and I will continue on to the factory." Athrun said. "Yzak, you guys take these three."****

"Alright." He said before turning to the rest of the team. "Listen up, those who take one of those machines, disable the self-destruct first."****

Dearka, Nicol, Yzak, and half of the ZAFT soldiers there landed near the transport vehicle of the first machine and quickly wiped out the guards closest to it.****

_**Hallway in Morgenroete...**_****

Falcon quickly noticed the five people coming up from behind, but decided to ignore him; Cagalli, on the other hand, glanced back at them in irritation. "What are you doing? Stop tailing us!"****

It was then that Kyle said something that shocked everyone except Arleen and him. ****

"Oh please, do you really want to try and get yourself killed? Lady Attha?" he said the last with an amused smile.****

Cagalli looked like a deer caught in the headlights, while Kira raised a eyebrow in confusion. Before he can ask what he meant by that, an explosion made the wall and ceiling collapse, blocking their way back. The gust of wind that came from the explosion blew Cagalli's hat off and Kira's eyes widened as he found that it was a girl he was chasing. He only said one thing of the situation, and it was the wrong one.****

"You're a...girl?" Kyle smacked his forehead at his friend's stupidity, while Arleen giggled, even at a time like this, and Cagalli gave an insulted glare.****

"Yeah! What did you think I was!? Come on, let's hear it!" She snapped, and Kira was at a lost of what to say. Another explosion knocked them back to reality.****

"We don't have time for this." Falcon pointed out. "He's right." Nisha agreed.****

"It appears this isn't a good place to be. Let's get outta here!" with that Kyle grabbed Cagalli's arm and the seven of them ran down a path.****

_**Outside Heliopolis,**_**  
**_**ISS-Morningstar...**_****

The situation looked grim outside as Heliopolis Mistrals, bravely but foolishly took on the ZAFT GINNs, and they were being cut to pieces. Then the Militia's Mobile Suit Force and TSF-Vertigo Fighters relieved the Mistrals, and began battling out with the ZAFT Forces, and as predicted the green pilots of the Vertigos didn't stand a chance as the GiNNs were slaughtering left to right. Calls for help we're coming like crazy.**  
****  
**"_HELP! SOMEBODY GET HIM OFF ME! AUUGH!"_****

_"HIMURA! NO! DAMN YOU BASTARDS!"_****

_"ALL VERTIGOS PULL BACK! THESE GUYS ARE VETERANS! YOU DON'T STAND A CHANCE AGAINST THEM!"_****

Trisha had had enough! The GINNS were slaughtering the Vertigos, and the Patriots were having their hands full! She had to do something or there wont be anybody to save. She made her decision.****

"That's it! Tell Canard to have his team out there with their Cavaliers and help out the Militia Forces, NOW! And try to get in contact with Head Quarters! Tell them we need the go-ahead to engage, move it people!" Trisha's order was final as the bridge crew carried out her orders. Tanya Koulikov, the ship's CIC operator, got in contact with Canard.****

_"Commander Harkin you're ordered to engage and help out the surviving Militia Forces, and please hurry, they're getting slaughtered out there!" _she said her voice having a touch of fear in it.****

"Copy that Tanya! We're going!" said Canard as he sealed his helmet visor. "All right everyone we got our orders! Our job is to help out the Militia survivors! Is that clear!?" he ordered and he got a affirmative from all his pilots including his second-in-command and girlfriend Yumi Nagase. He smiled as an Aile pack was attached to his Mobile Suit. The Cavalier was brand new and untested, so this will be a trial by fire for it. He took a deep breath as his machine got on the catapult.****

"All right! Canard Pars-Harkin, Cavalier, lets go!" with that he hit the throttle and the brand new mobile suit took off followed by it's brethren, as they sped toward Heliopolis to help out their comrades.****

_**Morgenroete factory district…**_****

Rusty, Tao, Athrun, and the rest of the ZAFT soldiers reached the storage area of the remaining two machines. They had managed to avoid combat thanks to the destruction caused by the two GINNs, so they were grateful for that.****

They were now at one of the side entrances of the storage area.****

Athrun opened one of the doors slightly, Tao opening the second while his friend threw in two grenades. A pair of explosions followed.****

"Go, go go!" Athrun cried as the rest of the team ran inside.****

_**Factory Area...**_****

The seven teens ran down the corridor and when they finally reached the end of the tunnel they came upon a warzone. Earth Forces soldiers and ZAFT commandos were engaged in a gunfight as they fought over the two metallic-titans sitting in their berths. Kira was awed and shocked at how streamlined and slender the mobile suits looked, even more streamlined than ISAF's Patriot Series.****

"Hey, those are.." he began to say as Cagalli went on her knees feeling sad and betrayed.****

"I knew it. The Earth Forces' new Mobile Weapons." and with a deep breath she screamed out, "FATHER I KNEW YOU BETRAYED US ALL!"****

Falcon's keen eye caught sight of movement atop the X105 Strike. "Down!" he said sharply as Kyle and him dragged their companions out of the line of fire. Arleen was not happy at that!****

"Are you trying to get us killed, Lady Attha!? There's no time for that!" with that the two ISAF soldiers in disguise hoisted the two of them up and continued on to the shelters****

Murrue Ramius was shocked to see it was actually a group of kids that set her off. She was thankful she missed and cursed herself for as a yelp from one of her men got her attention. "Those were children? And that one... he looks familiar..." The sound of gun fire brought her back to reality.****

"Damn it! Hamana! Hurry! We need to get these machines out of here!" she screamed as her gun jammed and she resorted to her pistol.****

As 3 GINNs provided covering fire back at the bridge for their comrades who are rewriting the OS to the Earth Forces new weapons, Yzak was impressed with the weapons it had, but frowned at how they made an OS like this piece of crap.****

"I cant believe Morgonroete thinks _this_piece of junk OS will help them!" he shouted his dislike at the poorly assorted OS.****

"I guess that means they haven't cracked the problem yet. Liberty has the same problem too, but their close." Dearka replied to his friend.****

"Yeah, I know, well I'm done. How 'bout you Dearka?" he asked his teammate.****

"It's running smoothly. It'll move," with that the Duel and the Buster stood up.****

"Nicol?" Yzak asked the youngest of his team.****

"Almost done...there!" he said as he brought his machine up.****

"Where are Athrun, Rusty and Tao? Sure taking their time."****

"We'll worry about that later. Right now let's get these back to Commander Le Creuset before they get damaged." with that the three G-Weapons took off the 3 GINNs as escorts as they headed back to the Vesalius.****

_**Morgenroete factory district…**_**  
****  
**Athrun opened fire on an armed employee while Rusty and Tao looked at the two machines. The man fell to the ground dead while a female cried out "NICK!" Rusty then fired on a man who had been wielding a pipe as a weapon, making him drop it. He fell to the ground, only to get back up a few seconds later and wander over to one of the shelter areas supposedly.****

"Hey Athrun! We got a problem here!" Rusty shouted. "Someone screwed up! There are five machines here!"****

"What?"****

"Take a look!"****

Athrun took a glance at the Earth Alliance mobile suits. With all the fighting, he hadn't really paid any attention to them. But now he realized that someone had made a major mistake. There were five prototypes in the warehouse, meaning that there were _eight_machines, not six like their intel had said. ****

'_How could our intel be that off?'_****

"We have to destroy those other three machines!" he ordered. "Someone has to get into those machines and activate the self-destruct!"****

Tao glanced back at Athrun. "Let me take one of the machines. We can destroy the other two as we take them." She said.****

Athrun nodded. "Very well, can you take the one closest to you?" She nodded and ran off towards it.****

But Rusty, who was to receive the Strike, then fell to the ground dead, killed by a gunshot wound to the back which was fired by the man he had injured earlier. He was on one of the prototypes as well, bleeding from his left shoulder, but alive.****

_**Factory District...**_****

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!?" Kyle shouted out in frustration as he noticed that all the Shelters in the area have locked down. He had one option left, and he looked at Arleen and she nodded in understanding. "Guys, there are Shelters in the Left Block, go there and get in a shelter! I'll take care of the Princess!" Kira was confused by that, "How are you..?"****

"There's no time! I'll tell you all about it later, now just go!" Kira wasted no time in arguing with him as he knew how serious he was when he was like this.****

"Alright! But you better tell me when you get back!"****

"Agreed! Now go!"****

With that the four boys turned around and headed back toward the Left-Block. Arleen looked worried as she saw him run back toward the fire-fight.****

"You think he'll be alright?" she asked with concern. Kyle didn't say anything at first, then with a sigh, he told her truthfully, "I don't know about Falcon, but Kira, Aki and Nisha are Coordinators just like us, we don't go down so easily."****

She looked at the at the corner their friends turned at before saying, " I hope you're right."****

"Wait," Falcon said. His eyes went to another door. "Kira, Aki, Nisha. You guys get to a shelter; I've got business elsewhere."****

Nisha blinked, confused. "Huh? Wait a minute-"****

"Just do it," the one-eyed teen said calmly. "I have something else to do here." He advanced to the door, bringing out his computer again. "I can handle myself."****

Nisha had not the slightest idea what was going on. He'd expected that this rock-like youth would show at least _some_reaction to this situation, but he didn't. Just as calm and collected as always, as if he'd been in a battle before.****

It was fairly immaterial, though. Falcon seemed determined to continue on. "Okay, then. But be careful, okay?" He didn't know the other teenager very well, but he didn't want to see him dead.****

They turned, heading back toward the factory floor, while Falcon began work on the door. "_Let's see... A simple enough lock, though I imagine it would do fine against most people; and on the other side... Hm."_****

There appeared to be several ZAFT soldiers on the other side of the door, which meant he was about to have problems.****

Falcon opened the door.****

Waiting on the other side were indeed several men in ZAFT green, and they whirled at the sight of the youth in the gray trench coat. "Hold it, you-"****

Falcon felt a twinge of fear, but then took a deep breath. _Find the center,_he thought, remembering his martial arts training. _Find the center, and-_****

His training took over, and his body was on autopilot.****

The first man went down with a roundhouse kick to the jaw, breaking his teeth and his neck; the second got off a shot, catching Falcon just above his right hip.****

He staggered, but recovered, grabbed the soldier's arm, and yanked, dislocating it; a knife hand to the neck finished him, and Falcon turned to the third.****

The third soldier saw what happened to his comrades, and he decided to do something drastic: he reached for a grenade, and pulled the pin.****

**"**_Idiot!_Falcon thought, and moved quickly for the door to the next room._When the pin is pulled, Mr. Grenade is _not_our-"_****

The grenade exploded, killing the man who held it and propelling Falcon through the door; the _closed_door, that is.****

He hit the floor in a heap and just lay there for a moment. "_Now I remember why I never joined the infantry," _he thought muzzily. "_Ouch."_****

It was about then that he realized his trench coat was on fire, and pulled himself to his feet. "Wonderful," Falcon muttered, and ditched the smoldering coat in a hurry.****

"Hey, you! Stop!"****

Falcon turned quickly, and spotted the lone man in green coming at them, assault rifle raised. "Can't have that." His hand went to his side, and in a single, smooth motion, he drew his wakizashi.****

That stopped the ZAFT soldier in his tracks. "You!"****

"Yes, me." Falcon ghosted forward, blade ready in a two-handed grip. "I don't know you, but I'm sure you know me."****

The soldier looked stunned and betrayed, and Falcon knew precisely why. "Traitor!"****

"I never betrayed the PLANTs; everything I do is for their safety." Falcon's eye narrowed. "Unfortunately, that means I must do this." The blade flashed out.****

After the meaty thump and the sound of head and body hitting the floor separately, he closed his eyes and tried to get control of his breathing. He felt ill, and had to fight back the nausea. "Come on, Falcon," he told himself. "It's not the first time you've killed, and it won't be the last. Get a grip."****

But it _was_only the second time he'd used the blade to kill... and the first time had been completely different.****

Once before, along with his best friend, the blond-haired son of a member of the PLANT Supreme Council, Falcon had been in a life-or-death situation on the ground. That day, he and his friend had been forced to kill; but that had been by hand, foot, and commandeered pistol. Never before had Falcon used his sword training in a true battle, and it made him sick.**  
**He pushed it down, though, and forced himself to continue on.****

Falcon had moved no more than five steps before he realized he was on a catwalk, and that there was an opening leading into the huge container next to him. A container big enough to hide a mobile suit...****

Moving quickly, Falcon tossed his wakizashi into the cockpit and yanked his backpack open. From it, he pulled a flight suit; cut in ZAFT top gun styling, it had several distinct differences: the helmet's visor, like Mu La Flaga's, showed only a narrow strip over his eyes, and the suit itself, where a standard was colored red with gray trim, was instead slate gray with black trim.****

And on the black helmet was an emblem: a pair of gray feathers...**  
**With the ease of long practice, he pulled on the flight suit, then d****

With the ease of long practice, he pulled on the flight suit, then ducked into the cockpit. "Well, well. Fancy rig." Unlike the other prototypes, there was a second seat in the rear, which he ignored for now; he was far more interested in the state-of-the-art displays around the pilot's seat.****

Falcon sat down, strapped in, and pulled a cable from his flight suit. It was nonstandard, and appeared to be a power cable; whatever it was, he attached it to the mobile suit's power supply, and turned his attention to the controls.****

"A little different from what I'm used to, but a mobile suit is a mobile suit, even if it is an Earth Forces machine with a horrendous OS..."****

He was prepared for that eventuality, however; after seeing the data on the first five machines, he'd written up a replacement operating system -purely as an intellectual exercise, he'd thought at the time. Now, it just might save his life.****

Within moments, the OS had been uploaded, overwriting the previous program, and Falcon turned his attention to the mobile suit's specifications. "Hmm... GAT-X107 Raptor..." he murmured, bringing up an image of the machine. In appearance, it closely resembled the Strike, but with a hardwired, modified Aile Striker pack on the back, and a Panzer Eisen rocket anchor, like that of the Sword Striker pack, permanently mounted on the machine's left arm.****

The changes to the Aile module were quite interesting: a pair of what appeared to be beam cannons were mounted on top, and four pods of some kind were attached to it, one on each of the vernier modules. "_That's peculiar..."_****

Falcon brought up an equipment list, and nodded appreciatively.** "**_Rocket anchor, beam rifle, Igelstellungs, beam sabers, the two cannons, Armor Schneiders... Phase shift armor... Death Blossom System? That... that looks like... Can it be?"_****

The so-called "Death Blossom system" was the four strange pods; and when activated, they revealed themselves to be self-propelled remote beam emitters, tethered to the mobile suit with control wires.****

In other words, it was an energy version of a Moebius Zero's wired gunbarrels. A weapon which only Mu La Flaga could use... or someone with nearly identical kinesthesia scores...****

Falcon smiled to himself, something he would never have done around other people. "If the other five machines are this good, the Earth Forces will have a fight on their hands, with at least three in ZAFT's possession..."****

Then he remembered why _he_had left ZAFT, and his smile faded. "Of course, that means I have to fight ZAFT myself..."****

Falcon took a deep breath, using the techniques he had always known (but never from _where_he knew them) to push back his anger... and his sheer terror. "Forget it," he whispered. "N-jammer Cancellers are still far from workable, and without them GENESIS cannot be used. As long as that remains true, you still have a chance."****

Pushing aside his emotions completely, Falcon gripped the controls, caressing them. "_Oh, it has been far, far too long since I last flew... Though I must now face my former comrades, my purpose remains the same. Therefore... it is time to leave."_****

He brought the Raptor to life, and began to press forward against the enclosing container. Falcon was going back to war.****

The situation was grim for Murrue as she continuously fired at the ZAFT invaders with a rifle she took from a fallen comrade. Then she heard another subordinate give out a death yell, as he was shot in the head by a ZAFT pilot in a red uniform.****

"HAMANA!" she yelled and fired a single shot that smashed through the ZAFT pilot's helmet visor and he fell back dead. When Athrun saw his friend fall he saw red.****

"RUSTY!"****

"Let's go Kira, Nisha!" Aki' said as he ran for the shelters on the left block. The black-haired boy moved so fast, Kira could not keep up with him as the other Coordinator leaped from one catwalk to the next. "No wonder he is so good at getting behind me…" Kira murmured as he ran halfway across the catwalk.****

Nisha, on the other hand, had reached the other side by the time the boys were halfway across. He kept running, unaware of what awaited him as well.****

Then Kira saw a ZAFT sniper aiming at the woman the four had run from earlier.****

"LOOK OUT!" the boy cried, making the woman whirl around and fire on the sniper, killing him.****

"That kid again. Why did he...?" Before she could finish the last of her men was killed, and she turned around and killed the last of the green coat commandos.****

"Come down here!" she ordered, now desperate to get the last machine out of there, "Thanks, but I'm heading to the shelters in the Left-Block, don't worry about me!" he shouted back just wanting to get out of there.****

"There's nothing beyond that door!" just as she said that the said passage exploded in a huge fireball blocking the only way there. "Hurry and get down here!"****

Realizing he had no choice he ran onto a catwalk and to the shock and surprise of the Earth Forces Officer he jumped off and landed on the leg of the Strike. Just then another Redcoat came out of the shadows and fired at the Lt. hitting her in the shoulder, before his gun jammed, and then took out his combat knife. He used his jet pack to get up on the mobile suit, and went in for the kill, and then, just when he was about to finish her off he came face-to-face with a person he hadn't seen in three years. Kira was the same as he saw one of his close friends.****

"Athrun?" he said in shock.****

The soldier stopped, eyes wide as he couldn't believe what he heard, "Kira?"****

The wounded Lt. used this chance to ward the ZAFT pilot away with her pistol. Not wanting to get shot he jumped back using his jetpack to get over to the other machine. Murrue then shoved Kira into the cockpit of the Strike, and then she jumped in. Athrun, into the Aegis as the entire factory was exploding all around them. The Strike and the Aegis left their cradles as they got as the building exploded in a fireball.****

Tao, who was in the Diver, swore silently to herself as she stared at the state of the OS. "How could the Naturals design such a piece of crap?" she muttered as she set about rewriting the OS.****

Taikyu, now recovered from the shock of the bullet strike, was standing on top of the fifth machine. Aki' saw his uncle and jumped down onto it. The boy landed with no trouble on the catwalk near the chest.****

"What are you doing here?" the boy asked. "Just get in, Akira." The man snapped. "I am, I am!" the Coordinator replied as he did so.****

We have to get out of here NOW!" the woman snarled at Kira as another explosion blew throughout the compound. As another massive explosion blew apart the storage area, the GAT-X303 Aegis, ORB-04-A Wing, GAT-X308 Diver, and GAT-X105 Strike stood up from their berths…****

_**Secret Hanger...**_****

Kyle, now wearing a black and green custom ISAF flight suit made by the Orb Union, hurried to his machine, as Arleen dressed in her red with white trim suit, and Cagalli came out in a regulation pink. When they approached the far side of the hangar, Cagalli stopped, eyes wide at what she was seeing. They looked just like the mobile suits in the other Hanger, but they look a little different.****

Well, you coming or not!?" said Kyle as he closed his helmet's visor.****

Cagalli didn't argue as she followed him up the stairs to lift to his machine, while Arleen boarded the lift to her machine.****

"You get in first behind the seat. I'll come in last" he ordered her.****

"Whatever you say" Cagalli said under her breath and she entered the cockpit, then Kyle got in, and Arleen got in her Mobile Suit. The two started them up as the large door slid down, and both gave a deep breath then shouted the names of their machines.****

"Kyle Matsutani, Rogue, TAKING OFF!"****

"Arleen Bettany, Vigilante, LET'S HIT IT!"****

The two Gundams then took off in to the Interior of Heliopolis, into the unknown journey that awaited them.****

**Disclaimer: All OCs and mobile suits belong to their original creator. **


	2. Chapter 2

Phase 2: Its name is Gundam

_**January 25th, C.E. 71**_

_**Morgenroete Factory District**_

_**Heliopolis…**_

Nisha had just reached the outside when he saw a GINN pilot pull off the cover on the container holding another mobile suit. The Z.A.M. was it?

Then he realized just how bad that could be for everyone out there.

"NO!" he cried as he ran towards the machine and entered via a side hatch on the container.

Nisha opened up the cockpit and climbed in. The door hissed shut, meaning that Nisha was all alone in a machine that he had no idea on how to pilot.

"Great! Now what?" he murmured anxiously. Then, the other two Mobile Suits attacked him! "Yeeek!" he shrieked.

The young Coordinator hit the one button he knew to be the Phase Shift armor, having seen it quite a few times before. The Z.A.M. then came to life, the black coloring appearing with the red lined grey cockpit coming in as well. The blue feet were the last part to finish up.

"_The OS is shit! I guess I'll have to re-write it… But in the middle of a battle, that is not going to be easy."_ The boy concluded as he moved the shield in front of the cockpit. He brought up the machine's OS and began to work.

"DAMN IT!" Matthew snarled as the Z.A.M. came online. A civilian had stolen it from _them_! Ironic, if it was not for the battle they were waging at that point.

"_How could we have not noticed this one?"_ He thought angrily as the machine got up and began to avoid their attacks, getting faster each time. Then Athrun came on over the com-line. _"Rusty failed. An EA officer is inside the last machine."_ The other pilot reported.

"DAMN!" the green coat swore.

_**Bridge of the ISS-Morningstar**_

The mood on the Morningstar was tense, as Trisha irritably waited for permission from HQ to move in and protect Heliopolis. Truth be told, she could care less for her old homeland, after they betrayed her. But the only people she could truly trust was her old teacher, Admiral Halberton, and her classmates and old friends, Murrue Ramius, and Cornelia Friedrich, aka the Blue Falcon. She inherited her mentor's stubborn streak just as Murrue had, but had the mind of a tactical and strategic genius. Now, as she looked at the battle outside the Heliopolis Colony, she just about to say to hell with orders and blast the three ZAFT vessels to smithereens, when her communications officer beat her to hit.

"Ma'am, we've got a hail from Commander Harkin, he sees the Rogue and the Vigilante exiting the colony...wait..." the COM officer's eyes bugged out when he heard the next words from Canard. Trisha saw this, and she knew the look that was on his face "What? What is it?"

"Uh, Ma'am, you're not gonna believe this, but Lady Cagalli Yula Attha of Orb is in the Rogue with Lt. Matsutani," he informed her and her reaction, as well as the reaction of the entire crew was the same thing; "WHAT!?"

"What in the name of all that is sane, is Lady Cagalli doing here at Heliopolis?" asked Amanda Wesler, the ship's XO.

"I don't know. But we better get her onboard and quick. Siegler, contact the Rogue, tell him to get Lady Cagalli onboard as quickly as possible!" she barked and the young man went carrying out his orders, then someone in the CIC shouted, "Ma'am! Four ZAFT GINNS are in pursuit of the Rogue and the Vigilante! ETA 25 seconds!"

Trisha gritted her teeth at that, if they lose the Vigilante and the Rogue they would've come here for nothing, and also if Lady Cagalli were killed it will cause an international nightmare scenario!

"Get a hold of Commander Harkin! Tell him to send 3 of his men to back-up the Rogue & Vigilante! HURRY!" she yelled at the top of her lungs and Siegler went to work.

_**Space outside Helipolis**_

Kyle gritted his teeth as he spotted four GINNs heading straight for them. "Damn it all! Why does ZAFT have to be so damn persistent!? Sorry for the rough ride Princess!"

"Don't call me...AAAAH!" Cagalli screamed as Kyle did a back-flip and hit the thrusters to maximum, to get rid of the four ZAFT machines, Arleen saw this and didn't like were this was going.

"Kyle! What ARE you doing!? We've been ordered by the Commander and the Captain to return to the ship!" She yelled hoping he'll listen, which he, unfortunately, doesn't.

"If they spot the Morningstar they'll tag as an Earth Forces ship! You want to see our ride get blown to bits by those ZAFT ships!?" Kyle countered and Arleen sighed with irritation as she joined him in taking care of their pursuers.

The four ZAFT were caught off guard by the stunt as the Rogue headed straight for them.

"I though they're supposed to be 5 machines! Where did THESE two come from!?" Shouted one of them just as the Rogue unleashed a surprise none of them were expecting, the arms swung up, and out came a CIWS in each arm. The Igelstellungs in the head and the 65mm three-barreled Gatling guns erupted, spitting out APCR rounds that shredded the rifle and left arm of one GINN, and obliterating the head of another.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?" Cursed one of the ZAFT pilots lucky enough to not get hit. Then all of sudden, two emerald bolts destroyed the rifles of the last two.

"If I were you; I get out of here fast!" said Arleen as the Vigilante streaked in its Mobile Armor form.

"Shit! Let's get out of here! This isn't over! Not by a longshot!" with that the four humiliated machines turned tail and headed back to the ZAFT ships. Then, a group of three Cavaliers came up to the Rogue and Vigilante. It was then Kyle's screen lit up with the image of a young man his age, wearing a black and red version of the Orb flight suit and green framed glasses behind ice blue eyes.

"Kyle, Arleen, you guys alright?" said the pilot, with a hint of concern. Kyle's response was to grin ear to ear, at what his machine just did.

"I'm alright Dimitri, but man, this thing rocks!" Kyle shouted in victory at the damage he did to the two GINNS. He then got a hard smack on his helmeted head, and when he turned around there was a very pissed off Cagalli. He had only one thought for the situation he was in. 'Oh shit'

"YOU JERK!"

Arleen just smacked her head as she heard the fight going on in the cockpit of the Rogue. "I'm okay as well. Shall we head back to the ship now?" she said in a bored tone. With that the 5 machines headed back to the waiting Morningstar.

The battle was a stalemate as the mobile suits of the Morningstar & Heliopolis Militia, the Moebius ZEROs, after losing their Moebius wing mates and the transport they came in on were destroyed, and, surprisingly, a single Vertigo fighter that survived the slaughter, held off the ZAFT assault. Although the GINN was outdated, in the hands of an experienced pilot, it could cause problems.

"Damn! Can't we do something about this difference in battle strength!?" Mu cursed as he unleashed his gun-barrels on a GINN, blowing the right arm off. The GINN retreated back to the waiting ZAFT fleet, the pilot furious at the damage done to his machine.

"I know! ISAF built mobile suits the same time as ZAFT did, while our so-called _LEADERS_make us fly these tin-cans! UGH! It infuriates me that Command can be so stubborn sometimes!" cursed Cornelia as her blue ZERO blasted the right leg off another GINN, the pilot clearly not happy at the damage to his machine.

Canard and the rest of his team were having no trouble at all dealing with the GINNs, but they were ordered to disable the ZAFT mobile suits, not kill them. Canard used his beam saber to slice off the right wing and left forearm of a GINN and that made it to fall back to its carrier. It was then that he saw the only surviving Vertigo, doing bodily harm to a GINN as it destroyed its rifle with its vulcan cannons. His impression on the pilot of the space fighter was...

'He's good.'

The pilot of the Vertigo, one Ryu Kojima, was infuriated that ZAFT could do something like this, after what ISAF did for them, as he maneuvered his Vertigo into the fray. 'Shit! First the Alliance uses Heliopolis as a nursery to build their pet project! Now this!' he cursed inwardly as he avoided nearly getting cut in half by another GINN.

"Come on! Give us a break you bastards!" he yelled, and his wish was answered as a flare went up, signaling the remaining GINNS to return. "Finally!" he breathed a sigh of relief that for now the ZAFT forces have retired. That is until his Commander, piloting one of the Patriots, said otherwise.

"Don't get too comfortable! They may be withdrawing, but they far from done, I saw only four of the Alliance's prototypes leave the colony. They managed to keep it out of ZAFT's hands somehow, not that I really care," said his commanding officer, one 26 year Dean Van Garret. A former member of ZAFT, Van Garret left because of Patrick Zala's Anti-Natural stance and his talks of genocide, when he was told by Chairman Clyne to leave the colony and to take only 3 members of his old team. When he came to Heliopolis, he was asked by the Governor to form a Militia in order to protect the colony.

"Yes sir!" replied Ryu as the Militia headed back into the colony to make sure no ZAFT mobile suits were in the colony. Van Garret smiled inwardly though, Ryu Kojima, was perhaps his best student, and what he shown in a Vertigo, he could be more deadly in a mobile suit.

"And by the way. When this over, I'm gonna put in a order for you for a mobile suit from Liberty Electronics." this surprised the young Coordinator, but he was overjoyed at the same time.

"T-Thank you sir!" he said excitedly, Dean couldn't help but chuckle at the young pilot's joy.

"Just consider it a gift for defending the colony, and not dying!" he said jokingly, and he looked at the newcomers that came to their aid in the nick of time. They were leaving the area believing their mission was done.

'Whoever you people are, I thank you. May fortune smile upon you,' he blessed them, hoping to see them again in the future. It was then one of his people caught his attention.

"Sir! Look!" Van Garret looked in the direction his subordinate pointed and he saw red. Below them was a white CGUE, and one of the ZERO's, an orange one, that also came to their aid. He recognized the CGUE's fighting style and immediately figured who it is.

"Rau Le Creuset!" he spat the masked man's name like it was venom, "I should've known,"

"You know him sir?" asked Ryu.

"Know him? I can barely stand the sight of him! I knew this was his doing, because he did the exact same thing at Endymion!" he growled in a low tone.

"Should we take him out, sir?" one of the other Patriot pilots suggested. It then he saw the CGUE and the Two ZERO's follow him into Heliopolis.

"Let's give them some back up, if it gets rough for them, we NAB him! Got it!?" there was a chorus of "YES SIR!" from his pilots as they dived after the three machines.

_**Inside the Colony Interior**_

Nisha was re-writing the OS frantically as he dodged each of the enemy's attacks.

"Almost done with the movement…" he muttered as he turned towards the other Mobile Suits that were fighting as well.

One he could see to be the Wing, while the other two were the Strike and the Raven. Nisha knew that he _had_ to get over there and fast. They could use the help as well.

As he made his way over, the com-line beeped. Nisha opened up the channel and heard a female voice.

_"Pilot of the Z.A.M., identify yourself!"_ the female ordered.

"Nisha Itsuno! I took the machine back from a GINN pilot that was trying to destroy it. I'm heading over towards your location right now!" he replied. He turned the machine in that direction and headed over.

'_I'm not gonna let anyone else die again!_' he thought.

X107 Raptor burst through to the colony's interior, through a hole some other mobile suit had apparently blasted. From the utter absence of both the X105 Strike and X303 Aegis, Falcon had his suspicions in that regard. _Someone else already got them. "But who? That woman who shot at us, for one... but who else? And did Kira and that Cagalli girl get to safety?"_

Flames leapt about as the five machines wandered away from the fire-consumed warehouse. The movements of each were shaky as the OS's were not yet complete.

Tao sat in her cockpit, still working to rewrite the OS of the Diver. "Those Naturals could have done a better job on the OS!" she growled as she finished up. "I'm done. Heading back now!" she reported.

The Aegis and Diver then leapt away from the other three and landed, just as the three GINNs from earlier landed as well.

Taikyu was sitting in the pilot seat of the Wing, Akira standing behind him. "Damn ZAFT bastards…thinking that they can steal these machines…" the man murmured. It was clear that he was struggling to operate the machine.

"Uncle, why are you even doing this?" Akira demanded. The man looked at his nephew with a stern look. "Listen! We need to prevent this thing from falling into ZAFT's hands! That is why I have to get it out of here!" Taikyu snapped.

Akira was too busy staring at the OS though. _"How can he expect to pilot a machine with such a crappy OS?"_ He thought to himself. "Akira! Pay attention!" his uncle snapped.

The Coordinator snapped his gaze towards the Natural. "The OS is shit. There is no way that you can get it out of here with that!" Akira exclaimed as he pointed at the screen.

"I know that! But we need to get out of here, complete OS or not!" Taikyu snarled as the Wing stumbled before staggering back to its feet.

Then, a woman's voice came on over the radio. _"Attention pilot of the Wing! Identify yourself now!"_

Taikyu hit the com-line button and responded instantly. "This is Taikyu Itsuno of Morgenroete! Is it you, Lt. Ramius?" he asked.

"_Yes it is. Glad to see that you got that machine out of there in time."_ Lt. Ramius commented as the Strike wandered up besides the Wing.

Then, another command came in. _"Pilot of the Z.A.M., identify yourself!"_

The three machines were staring at the Z.A.M., which was walking towards them.

"_Nisha Itsuno! I took the machine back from a GINN pilot that was trying to destroy it. I'm heading over towards your location right now!"_ Nisha's voice came on over the com-line, startling Taikyu.

Akira looked anxiously towards the Strike. Last he had checked, Kira was in there.

"Is Kira with you, Lt. Ramius?" Taikyu asked.

"_The boy with me? Yes, he is here."_ She replied.

"Good. Listen, Murrue! The OS is not ready for a Natural to pilot yet! You need to let Kira into the pilot seat, as he is a Coordinator like my son and nephew! They can handle the machines better than us right now! It is the only way to save these machines!" Taikyu explained.

"_WHAT?"_ both Kira and Lt. Ramius were shocked at the request. _"There is no_WAY_that I am letting a civilian pilot a top-secret machine!"_ Lt. Ramius declared. _"Listen! You need to let him! It is the only way that we are going to survive! My cousin is piloting the Z.A.M. Gundam right now!"_ Akira over the radio snapped at the woman.

Then, suddenly, the GINNs pulled out their swords as they put their guns onto their backs, while the Diver and Aegis both flew off. They ran at the three machines, ready to strike.

"Fuck this!" Akira snarled as he shoved his uncle out of the pilot seat and got in. The boy then realized his mistake: he had no idea on how to operate such a machine! He faced his uncle. "What do I do?" he asked anxiously.

Taikyu reached over to press a switch on the console and the Phase Shift Armor came online. The once grey machine became white, blue, gold, and black as the armor took effect. The wings became color with a black top and white majority and a blue line on the very bottom. The chest became blue with golden lines around where the cockpit door was and the legs and arms became white with blue feet bottoms. The hands became black and the head became white with golden eyes, a golden V-fin and a blue V-fin center. The shin guards were white while the shoulder guards were blue at the bottom and white at the top as well. To finish off the new coloring, the back part where the thrusters were became black as well.

Akira then felt his uncle's hands on the control sticks and the Wing barely managed to get its arms up and push the first GINN back as the sword came down.

"You're gonna have to re-write the OS to suit your abilities." Taikyu explained as he looked at his nephew.

Akira just nodded and proceeded to do so, silent all the while. In his mind, he was thinking '_Is this really happening?_' over and over again.

The first GINN lunged at the Wing, making the black-haired Coordinator let out a yelp and pulled hard on the controls, barely avoiding the sword attack.

"You BASTARD!" Akira screamed as the Wing landed safely. _'Damn it all! I_need_to get out of here! But these ZAFT idiots are not letting me! I guess I'll have to do this the hard way…'_ the boy thought as he looked over the Wing's specs while re-writing the OS.

Nisha tried to give his cousin cover fire, but the second GINN ran at him as well, making him move back.

'_Hellfire mini-missiles, beam sabers, wing blades…better not use those….75mm "Igelstellungs" anti-air Vulcan guns, nice… dual .74mm hyper-velocity beam rifle…now there is something new…Transformable mobile suit, huh? Might as well see what it can do…'_ Akira decided as he finished up with the movement systems.

By now, the boy had finished re-writing the OS. Even if it was not perfected yet, it was at least enough to keep them out of harm's way. The Wing's movements were now much more fluid, although there were some parts that still needed to be worked on.

A sudden attack by the GINN caught the boy off guard as a bleeping sound came from the side of the pilot seat. Akira could only guess that the sound was an alert to the enemy being behind them…

"DAMN IT!" he swore as he spun the Wing around, getting out its beam saber, which was ignited to form a golden blade. Akira raised the beam saber and attacked the GINN, which wound up blocking with its sword.

The force pushed the two machines apart, allowing the GINN to put its sword away and take out its gun to fire on the Wing. '_Close range isn't gonna work at this rate. Gonna have to try long range…'_ Akira considered as he pulled the trigger for the head-mounted Igelstellung guns. The rounds flew at the GINN and although the damage they caused was minimal, they did get the pilot of the enemy caught off guard.

Nisha growled as he attacked the nimbler GINN. "Damn you!" he snarled as he drew back the Z.A.M.'s fist. His machine then punched the GINN right in the head.

'_I can't risk using the heavy weapons here because there are still people on the colony.'_ He reminded himself as he got ready to fight the GINN again. Nisha then grabbed one of the Z.A.M.'s beam sabers and ignited the blade.

"Take THIS!" he cried as he attacked. The GINN's pilot had no time to react, causing his machine to get impaled. The damage made his machine blow up upon impact.

Falcon watched as the GINNs fought against the G-Weapons. He had been listening to the exchange between the ZAFT pilots. _You're way out of your league, with_that_machine,_ he thought, assimilating the data he'd just gathered. '_Rau, huh? Figures... and "Athrun" must be Athrun Zala; I remember him from the time I gave that lecture at the academy... and that other voice...'_

He frowned. "That was Miguel Aiman," he murmured. "The Magic Bullet of Dusk; didn't know _he_ was with Rau's team these days." He'd served with the man, a long while before.

Falcon's first instinct was to arm his weapons and go to Miguel's aid, but he quickly forced it down. '_You can't, birdbrain,'_ he told himself. '_ZAFT already has five G-weapons; if there's to be a semblance of parity, Earth must keep the Strike._ His fists clenched on the controls. _So if it comes down to it,_I_must fight Miguel.'_

So he settled back to wait, and watch; and resolved that if the battle went badly for the Strike, _he_ would take its place, and blast Miguel to oblivion.

'_It is my duty... As I swore to my fallen comrades, I will not let the Revolution end like this. Far worse than a defeat, would such a victory be.'_

Fortunately, it didn't appear that his intervention would be necessary. Though it had at first moved clumsily, the Strike had now taken on a life of its own, first smashing a fist into the GINN's face, then taking flight to dodge machine gun fire; and Miguel seemed off-balance, thanks to the PSA.

"This guy's good..." Falcon murmured. "Not the same person who was in control at first, though. Not with _those_ moves... Could it be Kira?" '_Kira... Athrun's long-lost Coordinator friend... Yes, it could be him... it_must_be him...'_

'_DAMN IT! So much for long range…'_ Akira thought bitterly as the GINN's pilot fired the gun again. This time, the bullets hit the Wing dead on. Akira grunted as he struggled to get the machine to stay upright.

"Be careful!" his uncle exclaimed as the man tried to stay upright as well. Akira looked back at him with an angry look in his eyes. "Be quiet, alright? Fighting these guys is not as easy as you think!" the boy snapped.

Taikyu stared at him, surprise on his face. Akira then looked back, wondering what the GINN was up to next.

"Let's try the beam rifle…" he murmured as the Wing got out the weapon from behind its back. The machine pulled the trigger and two shots flew from the barrel, one taking off one of the GINN's arms at the shoulder joint while the other missed.

Not happy with the outcome, the GINN took off, just in time for Akira and Taikyu to hear an explosion from nearby.

"NISHA!" Aki' shouted as he watched the Z.A.M. Gundam stumble backwards. The machine remained standing however, which was a good thing.

The battle was over almost before it began. Falcon watched with professional interest as the Strike drew both Armor Schneiders, zigzagged in close to Miguel, and lashed out with the weapons, burying one in the GINN's right shoulder and the other in its neck.

Instantly, the machine's arms fell to its sides, and it stood still; then, after a pause, during which the Strike backed off a pace, the hatch blew out.

"He's ejecting..." Falcon whispered. "Which means... Idiot! Get away from there!"

Even had his radio been on, the warning would have come too late. Miguel Aiman's abandoned GINN exploded, rocking the Strike back. Though it did no actual damage, thanks to the Phase-shift, Falcon imagined it wasn't a pleasant experience for whoever was in the cockpit.

He figured he was correct when he noticed the Strike wasn't moving. "Must have been a real nice crack on the head... Now what? Should I reveal myself now, or let him go on his way?"

Falcon was well and truly torn. To reveal himself now would be tantamount to admitting to whoever that pilot was that _he_ was a former ZAFT pilot... and if the Earth Forces pilots were the type to hold a grudge, and knew enough to recognize _exactly_ who Falcon was, the one-eyed pilot could well end up very, very dead.

'_I wait,'_ he finally decided._Once the machines shut down, I'll come. Then, I'll have a better chance of getting in a few words before they shoot me.'_

Though he knew the world might be better off if they _did_ shoot him.

Fiery remains of the third GINN was all that remained of the battle now…

"Lt. Ramius, Kira, Nisha! Are you alright?" Taikyu asked over the com-line.

"_Yes, I'm fine. But the woman is unconscious and injured!"_ Kira replied anxiously.

"_I'm good, just shaken up…"_ Nisha added.

"_We're fine…"_ Chris said. _"That was close…"_ Johanna sighed.

"There is a park not too far from here. We'll regroup there." Taikyu explained. _"Got it!"_ the four replied.

As the four machines headed there, Taikyu looked at Akira. "Are you alright? You look shaky." The man noted. For the first time, the boy then realized what had happened to him during the fight.

The Coordinator was breathing heavily, sweaty, and was gripping the controls in a death-like grip. The rush of adrenaline still remained in Akira's body, making him shaky as he recalled what he had done.

He, a young ZAFT rookie, had just beaten a ZAFT ace while re-writing an OS and was piloting a Mobile Suit at the same time! But the machine was of the Earth Alliance. That alone made his predicament very hard. Akira was a soldier of ZAFT, and a red coat at that. Would he betray ZAFT for the Earth Alliance…?

_A young woman's body was on the floor of the house. Her clothes were gone, and she was covered in blood, most coming from a certain area…_

'_NO! I_can't _do that! The Earth Alliance member SAF killed my sister at the urging of Blue Cosmos! I_can't _join them!'_ The boy reminded himself.

"I'll be fine…" Akira murmured as he looked down at the controls. How could he do something like this…? How could he at all…?

"What is this machine's name?" the boy asked. His uncle looked at him before speaking again.

"It is called the ORB-04-A Wing. It is a top-secret project that is a joint effort between NASA and ORB. But that is all I can actually say about it right now…" Taikyu replied.

"I see…" Akira trailed off, just staring at the screens without even looking back at the older man.

He gripped the controls and headed towards the park. He had to see if Kira was alright.

_**Park…**_

As the Wing, Z.A.M., and Strike all deactivated their Phase Shift armor, Nisha, Taikyu, Kira, and Akira were stunned to see Tolle, Sai, Mir, and Kuzzey run up as the four got out of their cockpits.

"Why aren't you guys in the shelters?" Akira demanded. The four just looked at one another before Sai spoke.

"We kind of were in the middle of the battle when we came outside." He replied.

"You guys were great, and those machines of yours are just too cool for words!" Tolle remarked as he ran up to the two. "Where did they come from and-?" he was cut off by Taikyu.

"We have an injured woman in the Strike and I need help getting her out. Akira, can you finish up with the OS? I have a feeling that it may be the one thing that can save this machine from ZAFT." The man replied.

Akira nodded as he ran to the Wing and got into the cockpit. He could hear his uncle speaking to the others about what kind of help he needed.

Then, the man looked at Nisha. "I want you to do the same with the Z.A.M. Gundam." He added. The light blue-haired Coordinator nodded as he ran over to the machine.

"What should we do then?" Kira asked. "I want you, Sai, and Tolle to help me get her out of the Strike." Taikyu explained. "And once we get Lt. Ramius out of the cockpit, I want to do the same with the Strike's OS."

"Actually, I kind of already did that…" Kira replied sheepishly. Akira peeped out of the Wing's cockpit, unable to believe what he had heard.

"What about the rest of us?" Mir asked.

"Treat her wounds."

Akira pulled back into the Wing and resumed his task, unable to believe what he had heard. '_I knew that Kira was good with computers, but to be able to do that? He must have done something to it beforehand, but why would he be as confused as to what he needed to do… Nah. Kira would never mess with a top-secret project, especially if he never knew about it to begin with.'_ Aki' reminded himself.

Aki' looked over the Wing's specs again, and was impressed by the abilities it had.

Five minutes later, Taikyu looked into the Wing's cockpit.

"How are things going with re-writing the OS?" the Natural asked. Aki' didn't even look up as he spoke.

"I'm just about done here…" the boy replied. "How is the woman?"

Taikyu looked back. "She is still unconscious, but we treated her wound the best we could." He explained.

Murrue was regaining consciousness. She groaned as she felt like her shoulder and her head had gone through a meat grinder. Then she remembered those mobile suits that escaped from the west part of the factory. One looked like the Duel with the Aile Striker pack, while the other looked like a transformation type like the Aegis. It was then a younger voice got her attention.

"I see you're finally awake," she turned and saw a 16 year old girl, with copper brown hair, blue eyes, and wearing what appears to be a orange dress. "Hey Kira! She's awake!"

The same kid from the hanger came toward them. As she tried to lift her arm to her throbbing head, which was a bad decision she winced from the pain in her shoulder. "You'll better just lying still," she turned her head to the teenager and he gave her a look of embarrassment.

"I do owe you an apology. I got kind of carried away in there," Kira said remembering his mistake when the GINN blew up in the Strike's face. It was then Mir offered a bottle of water which Murrue warmly accepted, with Kira helping her up to get it. Kira though couldn't stop thinking of what happened to Kyle and Arleen when they told him they have their own way out.

_'I hope they're alright'_

It was right about there that things turned a little bit for the worst, as Tolle shouted his opinion for the Strike. "This so-called Gundam, is AWESOME" The two teenagers and Earth Force's soldier turned and there in and out of the cockpit was Tolle playing with the controls and Kuzzey observing from outside.

"Guys! Don't fool around with it!" Sai reprimanded, hoping they listen.

"So why do you think it turned grey?" Kuzzey asked, curious at how the mobile suit changed colors.

"I guess it means the batteries out of juice," Tolle concluded, it was then that Murrue snapped. "Get AWAY from that machine!" and the next thing they know a gunshot pinged off the Strike's armor between Tolle and Kuzzey. The two flinched at the Earth officer's way of expressing her outburst. Murrue got up from the bench she was laying on and walked up to the Strike all the while pointing her gun at the two. Kira intervened and tried to calm the irate officer before anyone got hurt.

Akira knew better than to mess with an armed opponent. He climbed down, just as Tolle, and Kuzzey climbed off of the Strike.

"Stop this! What are you doing this for?" Kira cried. "They got you out of the cockpit and treated you head injury!"

"While I am grateful for your help, I cannot allow you civilians to touch these machines. They are a part of a top-secret project." The woman explained.

"C'mon! Kira, Nisha, Chris, and Aki' were just piloting those things a few minutes ago!" Tolle argued back.

A wave from the gun meant for everyone to get into a group, which they did. Tolle was miffed about being ignored, but he let it slide. Best not to argue with an armed woman anyway…

"I need names, NOW!" the woman snapped at the little group of Naturals and Coordinators before her.

"Kuzzey Buskirk." Kuzzey replied.

"Sai Argyle." Sai responded.

"Mirillia Haw." Mir added.

"Tolle Koenig." Tolle replied.

"Akira Nishikama." Akira added himself.

"Nisha Itsuno." Nisha replied.

Kira just glared at the woman with defiance in his eyes before he replied. "Kira Yamato." the boy finished.

"I am Lt. Murrue Ramius of the Earth Alliance. I am sorry to tell you all this so suddenly, but I cannot allow any of you to leave at this point." Murrue replied.

"WHAT?" Everyone, even Akira, was shocked. "You all have been exposed to a great military secret, and until I can get a hold of the right authorities, you cannot leave my sight." The woman explained.

"How can you do this to us? We're citizens of ORB! You cannot tell us what to do!" Tolle snapped at her.

"Do you want her to shoot you? If you haven't noticed, she has a gun. Antagonizing her will only get you hurt." Akira growled at the Natural.

Murrue did not falter with her gun. "I suggest you listen to him. It will make things easier for all of you at this point." She replied. Suddenly the sound of footsteps was heard as everyone turned and saw the Raptor walking towards them.

The gun in Murrue's hand faltered, as she realized she had bigger problems now. '_Who could have boarded it? Well, I'll wager it's not a friend, in any case. Which means we are in trouble.'_

Murrue had to make a decision, fast. She couldn't fly the Strike properly, but while Kira _could_, would he? And could she put him in that position?

"Are you gonna hold that gun on us, or are you gonna make us do something about this?" Kira demanded. "You'd better make up your mind!"

The point was suddenly moot, however. The Raptor came to a stop, and the hatch opened.

Down came someone in a flight suit of ZAFT cut, but with unique coloring; he was, strangely, wearing a short, curved sword at his waist, and what looked like a power cable dangled from his suit.

"You can lower your weapon," the pilot said quietly. "Besides, I've already been shot today, and I'd rather talk, instead."

Murrue blinked in surprise. She knew that voice, and that face, even with the eye patch. "_Falcon?_ What are _you_ doing here?"

Pulling off his helmet, Falcon cocked his head. "Murrue Ramius," he said slowly. "My sister's best friend." His eye took in her Earth Forces work uniform. "Earth Forces Lieutenant's insignia... and Sophia introduced you as a classmate... ergo, Sophia is Earth Forces." His voice hardened imperceptibly. "She has a lot of explaining to do."

"_This is getting too strange,_ Murrue thought._Well, at least we seem to have some breathing space._ "What do you mean, she has some explaining to do?" she asked. "Didn't she tell you she'd joined the Earth Forces? And what is going on here?"

"No, she didn't tell me," Falcon replied. "She told me she'd enrolled in a science academy." '_I can't believe she joined the enemy...'_

She struggled to regain her equilibrium. "Look, Falcon, before you got here, I was trying to figure out what to do next. You can obviously fly that machine, however you came across it; are you _willing_ to?"

He considered it for no more than a second. "Yes. I have no choice." Falcon glanced back at machine. "I notice it has space for a gunner," he said casually.

"Yes," Murrue replied, "but we've no one here qualified-"

"That's okay," he said calmly. "I don't need one."

Akira looked at the new arrival like he had seen a ghost. _"The Grimaldi Falcon. What in God's name is he doing all the way out here?!"_

'_Well, that's one problem taken care of, even if I have no idea where he learned to fly a mobile suit.'_ Murrue turned back to the students. "Now, you all understand the situation. I cannot let you go, given what you've seen; and this is probably the safest place in the colony right now. Will you do as I ask?"

It was then they heard another click, which made Murrue's blood run cold, and made the others eyes go wide. It was then she heard the voice of the person who had the gun to her head.

"Easy now, Lt. Ramius. Let's not try to kill each other," She slightly turned her head and saw the barrel of a Colt .45 M1911A1 pistol. "I'm sorry about this kids but what the lady says is true. So that means you're gonna have to stay with us for the time being," with that done and knowing the situation to be diffused he lowered his pistol a bit and said in a cool voice. "You can turn around now Lt."

Murrue turned and got a good look at the person who held her up. He was 5'11, had golden colored eyes like a hawk, a muscular build, sandy blond hair in a braid, and wearing a white glove, looking closer she assumed to be hiding a prosthetic, looked about to be in his early twenties, and wearing the Uniform of the ISAF Armed Forces. After recovering from her near death experience she asked her question. "W-Who are you?" she asked him. The man smiled a smile that said 'Don't mess with me!' as he gave his answer. "The name is Elric. Cpt. Todd Elric to be exact, of the ISAF Force's 2nd Special Division. My unit was assigned here to keep an eye on your people till you leave with your new toys. And, since it's not a secret anymore, to guard _our _prototypes." Murrue then remembered the other machines she saw escaping from Morgenroete, and the look on her face said it all. 'They copied the data from the original project!'

"And before you say anything else," Todd said in a bored tone, "we didn't actually steal your data. We borrowed it," it was then that a new voice caught their attention.

"Cap! We got trouble!" from behind the crouched form of the Strike came another soldier, wearing the rank of Sergeant and body armor.

"What is it" Todd said in his best "Commander voice". The two ISAF personnel whispered low enough so the Earth Forces officer and the students couldn't hear him or the Sergeant. It was then they heard a curse from the ISAF officer as he banged his head with his gloved hand, the sound of metal was heard, confirming Murrue's earlier deduction of a prosthetic.

"Damn it! Well kids we might as well get ready to go! According to our intelligence, the ZAFT Team outside is the Le Creuset Team," that shocked the EA Officer and the students, and then he decided to give out orders to his subordinate. "Tell Williams to go get the Number 5 trailer for the Strike, now! And you four, uh, what are your names?" he asked mentioning Kira, who at first, was a little confused, but he quickly recovered. "Uhm, Kira Yamato."

"Nisha Itsuno."

"Akira Nishikama."

The officer smirked as he walked up to him and whispered in his ear so no one can hear him. "I want you to get back in the G-Weapons and try to contact any surviving EA personnel. I'm having one of my men retrieve a special attachment for Strike, when the unit is mounted I want you to try it again okay?" Kira was a little hesitant but seeing the seriousness in the older man's eyes he decided to do what the man says. "Alright." With that he got back in the Strike and tried contacting any surviving EA Personnel.

"I'll do that. The Wing has two battery units, so it has way more power than the Strike right now." Akira replied as he climbed back into the Wing's cockpit.

"ORB-04-A Wing, calling any surviving Earth Forces, please respond!" Akira tried the raise any forces in the area, but met only failure.

Murrue looked at Falcon. "You might want to stand ready in the Raptor, Falcon."

"In a moment," he replied. "First, I have a few questions; like what happened to the other four prototypes?"

Murrue shrugged. "I assume the Buster, Blitz, and Duel were taken by ZAFT forces; and I know the Aegis and the Diver were." Her eyes narrowed. "But what I want to know is, how did _you_ know about them?"

"I hacked the database," he said simply. "As a favor... and because I was bored."

She grimaced. '_Of course. Sophia always said he was a good hacker.'_ She felt a pang of worry. '_The_Archangel_was no doubt attacked as well; is she safe? And for that matter, does she even have any idea her brother is on Heliopolis?'_

Falcon had been watching her intently, but his head suddenly came up, an arrested expression on his face. '_That feeling... Is that you, Rau? I should have known...'_

He turned back to the Raptor. "I need to get moving. Right now," he announced, already walking quickly back toward the mobile suit."

"Why?" Murrue called after him. "What's wrong?"

"Rau Le Creuset is here," he answered. "That means trouble."

She blinked. "How do you know he's here?" she called.

"It's my business to know." The Raptor's hatch closed behind him.

_**Corridor**_

_**Archangel Dock**_

An unconscious female EA Ensign was floating around in zero-g among debris and bodies from the explosion. When she bumped against, she came too, and the first thing she saw was the body of another person. She gagged a bit, but then her military training kicked in.

"The ship! Where's the Archangel?" she to no-one in particular, as she went off trying to find more survivors. She went to the observation booth first, and what she found were nothing but more debris, dead bodies and also what was left of some of them.

"Is anyone here!? Anyone!?" she called out, no answer. The Captain's cap floats up to her, making her shed tears, fearing that she might be the only one left. "No, damn it! Are there any other survivors!?" she called out and after a few seconds a banging sound caught her attention, as a panel broke loose, and a flashlight blinded her for a moment.

"Ensign Badguirel! Glad to see you're okay!" Petty Officer 1st Class Arnold Neumann said with relief coloring his tone.

_**Colony Maintenance shaft**_

Mu La Flaga, aka the Hawk of Endymion, followed his nemesis, Rau Le Creuset, into a maintenance tunnel in the Heliopolis Colony determined to bring an end to this duel, once and for all. But that wasnt easy, considering he take a shot with his linear cannon at the ZAFT Commander he would dodge and the round would impact, causing unnecessary damage to the colony.

"Damn! Why here of all places!" he cursed as he continued to chase throughout the colony. Although, they are not completely alone as Cornelia in her custom Moebius Zero followed not too far behind, waiting just in case to give Mu some much needed back-up. She's unaware that she in turn is also being followed by the former ZAFT Van Garret Team, now called the Heliopolis Militia.

"It's been a long time since we've seen old 'Scary Mask' and the Hawk fight! I hope this time La Flaga puts him down for good!" Dean said as his team follows Cornelia's unit through the workings of Heliopolis.

"You've guys actually seen him fight?" Ryu asked, since he had'nt been to any of the battles the veterans been to.

"Yeah, and I can tell you this Rookie: Rau is one devious bastard, he will go to any lengths just to complete his mission. Even if that means the destruction of a entire colony," the former ZAFT pilot growled which made the newest member of their team gulp.

By now, Falcon, too, had gained access to the shaft's interior, and had spotted the confrontation. "Let's hope this works..." he murmured, examining the weapons controls. Then he opened his mouth, and uttered an inhuman, ascending wail.

Mu froze in his cockpit. _Oh, no. I know that sound._ He glanced at his displays, noting the machine coming towards him. _The last prototype. The one with the Death Blossom system. And the Grimaldi Falcon's got it._ His mind ran the variables, and came with one conclusion. _I'm a dead man._

"What the hell was that?" Ryu asked.

In his cockpit, Dean gritted his teeth. "So the Grimaldi Falcon didn't die. By why he be part of this attack?"

Then, to his utter and complete surprise, the Raptor's beam rifle opened up on the CGUE, instead; followed by a shot from the back-mounted beam cannons. "What the-?"

Rau, even had he not felt the Falcon's presence, would also have recognized that hunting call. "Well, hello, Falcon," he called. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Not long enough, Rau," Falcon said softly. "Personally, I would rather never have seen you again." _That_ was putting it mildly.

The battle had become a frozen tableau, with words replacing actions. "I must admit, Falcon, that while your desertion didn't surprise me very much -after all, if anyone had a right to snap it was you- I never thought you'd cross _that_ line." Rau chuckled. "So, are you looking forward to seeing the Ninth Circle of Hell, Falcon? I believe that _is_ the place reserved for traitors and mutineers."

"I never betrayed the PLANTs, Rau," Falcon replied, though his stomach clenched. By firing that shot, he _had_ betrayed ZAFT, if not the PLANTs themselves. "In fact, everything I do is in their name."

"Then why fight me now, Falcon?" Rau was genuinely puzzled on that point. "If you wish to defend the PLANTs, why leave ZAFT? Only two other people were held in such high esteem."

"You know why," the one-eyed pilot said, a trace of emotion entering his voice; his breath was also becoming slightly labored, as he began to feel the effects of the bullet wound. "You know that there are those who would go too far. You know what project I was working on when I left."

"With the N-jammers in place, it hardly matters," Le Creuset pointed out. "It can never be used now."

"You know as well as I that they're working on a way around that." Falcon's gaze shifted to the Zero. "Lieutenant Mu La Flaga, I presume. Do you and your friend want some assistance?"

"If you're willing to provide it," Mu replied cautiously. "How do I know you won't shoot me?"

"You should know better than that, Lieutenant."

He sighed. Yes, he _did_ know better than that; the Grimaldi Falcon never broke his word, and in any case the fact that he had fired upon Rau Le Creuset meant the pilot could not turn back. _Which means this offer is genuine; and I_do_need the help._

"All right, then, Commander DiFalco, Cornelia," Mu said. "Let's take him."

"You got it!" Cornelia exclaimed.

Once those words were spoken, Le Creuset knew he was in trouble. He was a formidable pilot himself -something he'd proven at Yggdrasil- but he was not certain he could best the Grimaldi Falcon even when they were in comparable mobile suits. Now, with Falcon piloting a G-weapon, there was a very good chance Rau would end up dead.

He decided to try a different tack, while dodging Raptor's fire. "You know who else is here, don't you, Falcon? You know who transferred into my team, the day before you left."

Falcon's face tightened just perceptibly. "Yes, I know." _Dearka Elsman... my best friend. Would that this never happened, that I was not forced to turn on ZAFT. But there is no longer any choice._ "I know, but I cannot allow anything to interfere with my mission. Least of all you, who sent us out to die."

Now outnumbered, Rau knew his only chance was to reach the colony's interior, where he would have more options. So, turning, he raced to one of the shaft walls, and waited, trusting to his reflexes to get him out alive.

"You think that will help you?" Falcon murmured. "Think again, old comrade."

Mu heaved a sigh of relief, seeing the Raptor engaging Le Creuset's machine. _They say there's nothing like the feeling when you realize you're still alive; guess they're right._ He smiled suddenly. _If I survive this, I should finally get to see the face behind the legend; should be interesting._

The Zero's linear gun fired -its wired gunbarrels were all gone now- at the same instant as Raptor's beam rifle and cannons; all of it aimed directly at the CGUE.

None of them connected, however. Le Creuset's reflexes were sharp enough to get him out of harm's way at the last instant, allowing the barrage to blow a mobile suit-sized hole in the wall, leading into the colony's interior. "If you want to catch me," he taunted, "you'll have to follow me in!"

Mu cursed, seeing his enemy escape; Falcon merely observed, devising his strategy based on the new variables. _Fine, then. Time to see what this mobile suit can really do._

"Follow me in," Falcon said, hitting several controls and arming the Death Blossom system.

"I hope you've got a plan," the Hawk called back. "But then, you always do, don't you? It's what kept you alive, through everything."

"Not everything," the one-eyed pilot whispered. "Not through Endymion."

In tandem, the former mortal enemies plunged into Heliopolis' interior.

_**Colony Interior**_

Kira was desperately trying to get any EA Forces to respond to his call, but so far there was none.

"Anything!?" Murrue called from the bench favoring her right shoulder.

"No! We're probably still being jammed! I can't get a hold of anybody!" Kira said as he kept trying. Todd sighed, as he knew the situation was getting out of control.

"Well, that ain't good. If all the other EA personnel are wiped out we might as well claim this baby," He said as he set his eyes on the Strike. Murrue didn't like that one bit as she reached for her pistol, but found it was missing. "Looking for this?" Todd said in an amused tone, as he twirled the pistol in his hand. Murrue was stunned to say the least.

"How did you...!?" she managed to croak out. Todd just smiled ear to ear as he placed the pistol in his waist band. "Never underestimate the workings of a former Intelligence Agent Lieutenant."

It was then the truck he sent his subordinate came up behind the Strike and the trailer opened revealing the Launcher Pack. "Here it is, sir!" said Williams as he dismounted the truck.

"Which one is the power pack!?" Kira asked from the Strike's cockpit. After Murrue got out of her shock she answered him. "The whole thing is integrated! Mount the whole unit!"

Down next to the trailer, Sai, Tolle, Mir, and Kuzzey were trying to figure out what was going on. "What happened today?" Mir wondered aloud. "Why were the Earth Forces building those machines in neutral territory?"

"For that matter," Tolle said slowly, "just who _is_ Falcon? I knew he wasn't like the rest of us, but..."

"He's obviously a Coordinator," Kuzzey put in. "_And_ one with mobile suit experience. That means he must be ZAFT."

"Kuzzey," Sai said sharply; but then he sighed. "I guess you're probably right. He knew they were GINNs just by listening to them; he reacted badly to the idea of his sister being Earth Forces. It all makes sense, when you think of it that way."

All of a sudden, something high above exploded, interrupting their conversation. A cloud of smoke now obscured part of the shaft, and out of it flew a CGUE, looking as if it were being chased by demons.

That summation wasn't far off. It was immediately followed by the Raptor and a Moebius Zero, the Zero looking for a shot for its linear gun; four self-propelled pods of some sort, connected to the machine via wires, were spiraling out from the Raptor. A few seconds later a 2nd Zero came out, and soon after that, the Patriots and the Vertigo also came out.

The G-unit suddenly changed color. Not as dramatically as the Strike, however; the Raptor simply changed shades, going from a basic light gray to uniform slate-gray. Now it went from merely menacing to something truly frightening.

A Gray Demon, personified.

"Akira, get inside the Wing NOW! Nisha, board the Z.A.M.!" Taikyu ordered, but the two didn't need to be told twice. Akira was already en route towards his machine while Nisha was running towards his.

Le Creuset could barely spare a glance for the Strike, under the circumstances; but he did spare it that glance. "So; that must be it. The machine that shot down Miguel. Now, if I can just take one of _these_ two annoyances out of the equation..."

He soon had his chance. Raptor was lining up for a shot from its remote laser units, the Zero on the CGUE's opposite side. _Perfect._

Falcon triggered a shot, but Le Creuset had planned well in the two seconds or so he had. He suddenly dropped his CGUE slightly, causing the beam to go past... right into the Zero's linear cannon.

"Nice shot, Commander," Mu said sarcastically, silently cursing. "Care to blow me _completely_ away next time? Or would you rather leave that to your friend there?"

"Don't blame me, Lieutenant," Falcon said evenly. "Rau is many things, but unskilled is not one of them; and I've never used a system like this before. And he's not my friend."

"Well, whatever. Are you going to shoot at him now?"

In the few moments his adversaries had been distracted, Le Creuset had closed in for the kill.

Todd cursed as he immediately began barking orders to his men and the students. "Everybody take cover now! Kira! Hurry up and mount the Pack!"

Kira couldn't believe as he mounted the pack. Up in the 'air' above them, Rau spots the Strike and smirks, 'There's the final units'

He immediately turned his CGUE just after he sliced off the linear gun on the Zero.

"I dont think so Le Creuset!" Cornelia shouted as she unleashed her final gun-barrel having lost the rest in battle, Rau dodged it and used the CGUE's machine rifle to destroy the pod. But then he was pounced on by the Militia remnants.

"Don't let him get near that machine!" barked Dean as he and his team did their best to hold him off. But Rau was no slouch, as he cut off the rifle arms of the Patriots and sent a round that grazed Ryu's Vertigo enough to discontinue fighting.

Akira fired on the CGUE as the Wing took to the air, its Phase Shift armor now activated and powered up. He then let loose a shot from the beam rifle, missing the CGUE.

The other machine dodged to the side, making Akira growl in annoyance. '_Damn it! This guy sure is not messing around! I'll have to see if trying something else will work, or everyone down there is dead! Let's see if the Wing can handle the air combat…'_ the boy thought as he flew after the CGUE. He had to distract the ZAFT machine long enough for the Strike to finish the equipment change while the others got away from the area. But he never got the chance to, as the CGUE sliced off the left stabilizer of the Wing, making Aki' crash to the ground.

"Gah! Damn it!" the boy swore as he slammed his fist into the cockpit wall.

"I'LL TAKE YOU DOWN NOW, WHILE I HAVE THE CHANCE!" he roared as he bee-lined toward the Strike, but then a loud BOOM caught the attention of all the people in the area. Out of the smoke cloud that the explosion produced, the _EAS-Archangel_flew through the smoke, as powerful as her namesake.

'_First ZAFT attacking us, and now this? What else could go wrong today?'_ Akira wondered as he stared at the emerging ship. Nisha was thinking the exact same thing as the ship emerged.

_**ISS-Morningstar**_

"Ma'am!" said Communications Officer Peter Siegler, as he received a message from HQ.

"What is it Siegler?" she asked hoping they got the go-ahead. Peter handed her the head-set and she took and listened to the voice on the other side. Her shocked expression showed to the bridge crew that whatever it was it was not good.

"What? No. You're joking?" was all she said as she dropped the headset to the floor.

_To be continued…_


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Exciting news! I'm currently looking for an artist to collaborate with me on several projects. Basically, I'm looking for someone to draw some of the stories I've posted on this website along some original ideas of my own. If you're an artist or you know someone who is artist, please contact me at kevan . lago gmail . com. I also have a deviantart account named Klag2. **

**Thank you for your time. **


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